AN: Second chapter, finally. Sorry about the wait, but I wanted to make it the best it could be for my lovely readers!
Taylor Swift and Sandlot Lover: Thanks so much! And yeah, Benny's a sweetheart! You are my first reviewer! Yay! Oh, and I love your username. Taylor Swift is, like, my fave! And obviously, I like the sandlot...
Heyheyhey: Thank you! And not quite the first reviewer, but you were close. I love you anyways!
Ilivluv: Thanks, and I'm sorry for not updating! I hope you found a way to cope without my wonderful story! JK ;) Also, I was planning on that. It should start in the next chapter...
Sarah: Thanks, I hope so! I will, don't worry!
Olivia: Thank you so much! I hope you will love it!
Jacobs little sister J: I did! Just for you, too!
Kitty POV
The next morning, I slammed my hand down on my loud and annoying alarm clock (that, for some strange reason, I had set for a Sunday morning…I don't know why) at 6 AM and I just lay awake for a while wondering what on earth I had gotten myself into.
If I was being perfectly honest, I had never really liked playing baseball-I just liked watching it-but I had learned how to play from the Dodgers and was pretty good. In fact, I DESPISED playing-I got sick of it after playing for forever-but Ham had just made me so MAD with his cockiness and the way he was so sure that girls couldn't play baseball, so I challenged him. Right then, I promised myself that I would set things straight with the boys today.
So I daydreamed until 7:30, and then grabbed some breakfast. Then I searched through boxes until I found my baseball gear. At 8:55, while I was fitting my cleats, my doorbell rang. First, I jumped, startled. Then I cringed, worried that the bell might wake my uncle (who was, by all means, not a morning person) but Uncle Dan didn't stir.
When I opened the door, I was surprised, albeit pleasantly, to find the one and only Benny Rodriguez at my door. "Shit, Rodriguez. Knock next time. We don't need my uncle to wake up. He's nasty in the morning." He laughed.
"Let's go," he smiled.
"I was just on my way," I replied, still a bit dazed by his sudden appearance. I scribbled a quick note, telling Uncle Dan that I was off playing baseball, and we left. We stopped to pick up Smalls, and then we were on our way. When we got there, everyone else was already standing in the middle of the field.
"Alright," announced Ham. "Here's what's going to happen. DeNunez, that one over there," he said, pointing to a dark-skinned boy chewing his gum loudly and tossing his baseball up and down, "is going to pitch us both 10 pitches-the same difficulty pitches, of course-and you and I are going to take turns hitting. When you're not hitting, you sit over there in the dugout. Anything hit over the fence is a home run, but you have to get another ball, and at the end, you add up the number of bases you ran. Everyone else is playing outfield. Okay?"
"Yeah," I said, somehow managing to keep up with his explanation. "Let's play ball! You want to go first, or shall I?"
Ham smirked before gleefully declaring, "Ladies first!"
And with that, I took my place and held my bat the way I had been taught. I made a connection with the ball on my first swing, and the baseball flew. The boys jumped for it, but they couldn't get it. It flew straight over the fence.
I jogged around the bases, high-fiving Benny giddily as I passed third, and smirking at a shocked Ham. I tossed Kenny another ball I had brought, not wanting to waste time to go get the ball, and the game continued, though.
"Alright," said Ham. "Lucky shot."
I raised an eyebrow. "Was it? Cuz I thought it was my skill. I could be wrong."
"And you are," he agreed.
But I wasn't. I hit it over the fence again and again.
I mostly got home runs, because I was fast. Even when I didn't hit the ball over the fence, I got three or four bases because I sprinted well. Ham mostly got three bases, and at the end I had won!
I turned to Ham and cocked an eyebrow and put on a mock-sweet face. "Luck?"
Benny POV
It was almost comical to watch all of the boys' heads swivel to Yeah-Yeah. Kitty stared at us like we were crazy for a second, but Yeah-Yeah paid up. Kitty laughed, while Yeah-Yeah looked at her sheepishly for betting against her.
"Alright," yelled Ham. "She's good," he admitted grudgingly. "Amazing. But, there's only 9 spots on the field. And with her AND Smalls, that's 10. So what now?"
I stopped laughing. He had a point. "Well," I started hesitantly, but Kitty cut me off. "It don't matter," she told us. "You boys play. I don't much like playing. I'd rather just watch."
Ham looked insulted. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You don't like playing, but you still beat me?" he asked. She nodded.
"I had the chance to learn how, and I took it, but I never really fell in love with the sport. Not the way you boys did," she explained. I was shocked, to say the least. I mean, how could you not love baseball? Maybe its more of a guy thing…
"But," she continued, "since I beat you, you have to let me stay and watch. I like to watch baseball, and this is the best place to get my baseball fill, idn't it? Those Little League boys ain't very nice." She made a face.
Well we agree on something.
"Yeah yeah," said Yeah-Yeah. "You can watch. And I'm sorry for betting against you," he added.
"You wanted to side with your friend," replied Kitty. "I get that."
"So you don't blame me?"
"Nope nope!" she laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh with her. "So go play. I need some entertainment!" she told us.
We all stood and saluted her at once. "Yes ma'am!" we chorused mockingly. And we took the field. This was going to be a very fun summer. I can just tell.
Kitty POV
It was starting to get dark by the time the boys were finished. "Hey!" I called to them. "Dinner?"
They all jogged over once they comprehended that dinner meant food. "Where?"
"The diner. I'm paying," I told them. After a moment, they (attempting to act like gentlemen) started to protest, but I shut them up. My uncle gives me 10 dollars a week, and right now I had 20. "I'm paying," I repeated firmly.
The boys easily gave in, and we headed off. But once we got there, they stopped short.
"Ugh," they all groaned at once, except for Smalls. He looked about as lost as I was. But then I spotted 9 boys all dressed in Tigers uniforms.
"Little League?" I guessed. Benny nodded while the rest of the boys kept glaring. One of them spotted us, and his lips turned up in a cruel smile. "Come on," I told them, leading them inside. "We look like morons just standing here." Reluctantly, they followed. I sat at a table that was the farthest away from the Tigers' and I started ordering.
"Don't look now," muttered Benny. So naturally, I turned my head. Phillips and the rest of his team were walking towards us, and they didn't look too nice.
"Ah, bitches," I murmured.
And that's it! Virtual cookies for reviewers!
