Benny's POV
Crack!
"Benny, how many times do I have to tell you? No baseball in the backyard! You're gonna break the fence!" My mom stood on the back porch with her hands on her hips, looking murderous.
"Sorry, Mom!" I yelled back.
She shook her head, muttered something, and went inside. I checked to make sure she wasn't looking, and took another swing at the ball. This time, it didn't hit the fence. It sailed right over it into the yard of the house behind ours.
I walked around to their house to get my ball back. The boys would be furious if I lost our only ball. The house had been for sale for a while, but a family had moved in a couple weeks ago. I rang the doorbell. The door swung open, and my heart fell to my stomach.
"Can I help you?" The girl looked at me curiously. She had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and piercing green eyes. It took me a second to regain my speaking abilities.
"Uh, um, yeah. I hit my ball into your backyard."
"Well, what'd you do that for?" She asked me. Then she smiled. "I'm only teasing. Come on in."
The house was full of unpacked boxes, although someone had taken the time to put out their collection of baseball memorabilia on the fireplace mantel. I gravitated towards it.
"My name's Ruth, by the way. Ruth Keller. What's yours?"
"Benny…" I managed to mumble, studying the stats on one of the cards.
She noticed I was concentrated on the baseball stuff. "That stuff's my dad's. It's his pride and joy. He used to announce for the Mets, so he collected a lot of stuff. He loves baseball. He even named me after a player." She shook her head. She muttered something about first child sacrifices.
"You mean you're named after Babe Ruth? The Great Bambino? The Colossus of Clout? The-"
"The King of Crash, yeah. That's the dude."
"Cool," was all I managed to say.
"Let's go get that ball," she suggested.
I got the ball and was walking out the front door. I turned around to her. "Do you like baseball, like your dad?"
"I like watching, yeah. But I've never played."
"I could teach you," I said quickly. "I mean, if you want."
She smiled. "That'd be fun. I'd like that."
"I'll come by tomorrow then."
She nodded. "It was very nice to meet you, Benny," she said. Her eyes glistened.
"Yeah," my voice cracked. "You too, Ruth. See you tomorrow."
I ran home before my face could get any redder.
