Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from The Sandlot. I only own Sandra/Sandy Smalls and any other characters that were not in the original script/movie.
The next few days went by in somewhat of a blur. The Smalls' family had just finished resetting their lives and moving across the country. School was starting, at least for the siblings. Truth was, school was ending in a couple weeks and Scotty and Sandra were just going dor formalities. Their mother didn't want them to miss out on any school, mainly because she didn't want them to be loners all summer. She wasn't as worried about Sandy, as she was about Scotty. To be honest, Sandy didn't blame her. She knew how he brother was.
"All right," Sandy said, looking at herself in the mirror. She made sure her hair didn't look like a total mess or that her outfit didnt look terrible. She couldn't lie to herself, she was nervous. "Let's get this over with."
Her mother had gone through the motions of taking their "first day of school" photos. The siblings, now, stood at the bus stop. Sandra had just scolded her brother on staring at some neighbor boy. Now, she was standing awkwardly at the bus stop, her dress swaying gently in the summer breeze. She held her leather pack by its short handle and looked forward. She could feel eyes on her, and it felt like more than one. She could almost guarantee that everyone there was looking at them. They were new, new kids were always stared at like they're some kind of side show attraction.
Sandy looked over her shoulder again, and noticed that all the boys the one guy was standing with, were now all staring at them. She wanted to run back home and just wait until summer vacation hit but she knew that wasn't an option.
Scotty turned to give the group of boys a quick glance before turning back ahead. He didnt say anything, just looked straight ahead. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his sister looking in the same direction. He could tell she was tense.
Before he could turn to talk to her, their bus arrived. Scotty was a grade below his sister and wonder if those boys shared her class or if they were in his. He doubted that they were any younger.
Stepping onto the bus, the siblings walked down the narrow aisle to the first empty seat and sat down. There was a girl in front of them, who promptly turned around and smiled at the two. She snaked her hand over the seat.
"Hey there! I'm Marcia!" She said, in a cheerful tone.
Sandy raised a brow, taking her hand and giving it a quick shake. She wasn't expecting anyone to talk to them, especially after being on the bus for less than ten seconds.
"You must be the new students," she started. She focused on Sandy. "You must be the one going into my class. My teacher was telling us about a new student coming in."
Great. The class was already forewarned, which means they already had time to prepare questions for her. From what Sandy remembered about having a new student come to your class, they usually had to introduce themselves and answer any questions that the students had.
Sandra remembered a kid that came to her class last year, when they still lived in Massachusetts. He was a foreign student, that had just moved to the US from Germany. One kid in the class took it upon himself to ask if the new student was a nazi. Sandy let out a sigh, dreading what kind of stupid questions would be asked. Or questions she just didn't want to answer.
Sandy and the girl talked a little on the ride to school, while Scotty stayed quiet. When they arrived, all the kids filed off the bus. Marcia took Sandy's hand, pulling her to the office with Scotty. They got their room numbers and were sent off. Marcia took Sandy to her new class and upon entering, Sandy noticed five out of the eight boys standing at the bus stop. She blushed again, noticing that original boy was staring at her more intently than the rest of the class.
Her new teacher, a slender woman, who looked to be in her mid-forties smiled at Sandy and walked over to her. Marcia hopped off to her seat and the teacher took over. "Class, this is Sandra Smalls. She will be with us for the remainder of the school year. Please make her feel as comfortable as possible."
She leaned against her desk and nodded to Sandy. "Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"
"Umm," Sandy looked around the room and bit her lip. She hated speaking in front of the class. "Well, you already know my name. I, uhh, moved from Massachusetts to ... here with my mother, brother and stepfather."
"Any pets?"
Sandy looked to the teacher, who she had later learned was called Mrs. Clackson. She had forgotten to tell Sandy when she first arrived, but thankfully, she had noticed it on the chalkboard.
"No, ma'am." Sandy said.
"Well, does anyone have any questions for Sandy?" Oh wonderful, now the fun was going to start.
Hands shot up in the air and Mrs. Clackson randomly picked one.
"Where in Massachusetts did you live?" It was a girl that sat close to Marcia. She wore her hair in pigtails with a bright pinn ribbon.
"I live in a small town, close to Boston. Its called Marblehead. There's a lot of ships, boats, yachts and the like over there. It's a coastal town." Sandy said. It was also a town that her parents were from.
Another student was picked. This time a boy with red, curly hair. He was rather plump. He was one of the boys at the bus stop. "Do you like the Red Sox?"
"Yeah, theyre entertaining to watch. My stepfather is really into baseball. My biological father bad other interests."
"Like what? And where is he? Are you parents divorced?" This boy didnt wait to be picked. He was another boy from the group. He was the only black boy in the group.
Sandy hesitated for a minute. She knew her teacher wouldn't know about her father, so she didn't bother looking to her for help. For a moment, she wondered what Scotty's class was asking him.
"Um...well he collected a lot of military memoribilia, especially from WWII. My grandfather was involved in it, he was in the Navy and in the south pacific when Pearl Harbor was attacked. My father always wanted to be like my grandfather."
"Thata fascinating," her teacher said with a smile.
"Yeah... my parents aren't divorced. My father joined the Army, instead of the Navy and was deployed to Korea. He committed suicide a few years after he came home. I was 8, my brother was 7."
The class fell silent and the teacher, looked just as shocked. She pushed herself off the desk and brushed her skirt off. She pointed at a seat and had Sandy sit down.
"Class, we're going to start where we left off yesterday. Someone let Sandy read with them."
She tried changing the subject super quick, but the class was still reeling from what they were just told. Sandy hadn't meant to say it, but it came out like word vomit. As she sat at her desk, she bit her bottom lip, staring down at the desk. A desk scooted over towards her, and a book slid onto half of her desk.
"You can share with me," said a boy. Sandy looked up at him and her sapphire eyes met the chocolate colored eyes of a boy with sandy brown hair. He seemed to have a few freckles and an infectious smile. Sandy blushed a little, and tried giving him a weak smile.
"My name is Andy," he started. "Nice to meet you."
"Same.." Sandy said, then shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "I mean, my name is Sandy and it's nice to meet you too. Not same like my name is always Andy."
She realized she was nervous rambling and instantly shut her mouth. Andy let out a laugh and flipped open to the oage the teacher had asked them to be on.
"Its okay, I know what you meant." Sandy smiled at him and looked down at thr book, trying to forget that she was a complete idiot and in front of a cute boy too.
The next few hours of school seemed to fly by. At lunch, Sandy was invited to sit with Marcia and a few of her friends. She had seen Scotty sitting by himself at the end of one table. She gathered him up and made sure it was okay for him to sit with her and her new friends. Of course, they didn't mind but Sandy did. She didn't want her brother to isolate himself but she knew he wouldn't take the initiative to speak to anyone.
After school, just as they were about to get off the bus, Marcia grabbed Sandy's arm, causing a small traffic jam behind her. She looked behind Sandy and gave the boy behind her a soft smile.
"Sorry Benny," she said, "just a minute."
"It's okay." Sandy heard him say. She turned to look at him and recognized him from her class, and one of the boys from the group.
Marcia got Sandy's attention back and frowned. "Im sorry about your dad...If you need to talk, just call."
She slipped Sandy her number and hopped up to give ehr a quick hug. Normally, Sandy would have pushed back, not really being the hugging type but she didn't mind. Marcia was super sweet and had jumped right into being her friend. Sandy needed friends, and why not Marcia?
She got off the bus and met up witb Scotty before walking the short distance to their house. She turned one last time before heading inside to meet the eyes of Benny, for what felt like the hundredth time today. Bkushing, yet again, she stepped inside the house and closed the door. This being the new kid shtick was getting old really quick. It seemed like everyone wanted to stare at her.
Their mother met them in the living room with a cheshire grin.
"How was school?" She mused.
Both Sandy and Scotty sighed, but it was Sandy who spoke. "It was... something, that's for sure."
