Riele has lived in her neighborhood all her life. She's best friends with Yeah-Yeah and Squints and plays baseball with the guys. Her dad was a pro player so it's in her genes. Riele has a big family and a crush on Yeah-Yeah.....
When Scotty Smalls...
К сожалению, это изображение не соответствует нашим правилам. Чтобы продолжить публикацию, пожалуйста, удалите изображение или загрузите другое.
"Riele! Your little friends are at the door!" I heard my older brother Ryan shout from downstairs.
Immediatley, I jumped up grabbing my glove and bolting out of my room that I shared with my little sister, "I'm coming!"
On the stairs, I skipped past my mother who was carrying a bunch of clean towels, "Riele! Watch where you're going and slow down!" she scolded.
"Sorry, mom!" I yelled back jumping down the last couple of steps. Starting another sprint I suddenly got lifted up into the air.
"Hey!" I complained to whoever was stopping me from seeing my friends and heading to the sandlot.
My dad's laugh sounded through the house, "Watch it, Sport. Careful or you're gonna hurt someone."
"Sorry, dad." I replied, walking towards the door where my friends were awaiting me, "I'm at the sandlot!"
"Be back before dark, honey!" my mom's voice called after us.
Dad turned around and smirked mischievously, "And no kissing!"
While my face was heating up in embarrassment, he looked past me to my friends, "Looking at you, McClellan." Yeah-Yeah swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded at my dad.
"Yeah, and don't fall and embarrass yourself!" another brother of mine, Parker, teased before I closed the door.
Then I turned towards my friends, "Hey, guys."
"Hey, Rie!" a chorus of voices sounded.
I found my usual spot between Squints and Yeah-Yeah. The latter smiled at me, "Hey."
My face lit up in excitement at seeing him, "Hi, Yeah-Yeah."
Some of the boys were exchaning looks behind us which went unnoticed by both Yeah-Yeah and me. Benny had seen enough of our crushing and walked down my driveway.
"Let's go, guys!" Benny started running towards the sandlot. The rest of us followed immediately, Yeah-Yeah reaching for my hand and pulling me along.
The sandlot was our field, our stadium, our own little baseball kingdom. It was the greatest place on earth and we all knew it.
We were nine players, just enough to make up a team and we had been friends our whole lives. Most of us, at least.
Yeah-Yeah, Squints, Benny, Tommy, Timmy and I had been living in this neigborhood our whole lives. Bertram, Ham and Kenny had all moved here when we were in primary or middle school.
This summer marked the end of middle school for all of us, except Tommy - who was a year or two younger than the rest. I was about to turn fourteen and was therefore the third youngest out of all of us.
Benny, Tommy, Kenny and Bertram were all a year older, so they had just finished their freshman year.
My two best friends Squints and Yeah-Yeah had been my friends since we were born. My dad had taught all three of us how to play baseball. He was a pro back in the day.
