The Jet (A Sandlot Story) Benny Rodriguez

Chapter 16

You were able to finally get it around without burning yourself, and after a few seconds of holding it still, you released the hair to behold a beautiful curl.

You honestly were so proud of yourself for figuring out how to do this after all these years of swearing you never would.

It took about twenty minutes, but because your hair was short, it was easy to get done fast. Now you had a beautiful head of rich, curly hair. You looked yourself in the mirror once more, starting to like what you saw.

You got up from your seat and started to put on your dress. You hated wearing dresses, but all the other girls were wearing them, so you thought it might help you fit in.

It was light yellow, and had a tank strappy top to it. It had a small sash around the middle to accentuate your waist, and one at the top of your back. There were some pretty sunflower embroidery stiches on the waistline and chest, making the dress to have a summery feel to it. It also had two green ribbons that tied over your shoulder.

You zipped up the back, and tried to tie the sash, but you couldn't get it right with your shoulder.

You huffed, opting instead to go ask your mom for help. You had hoped you could leave the house before she saw you, but you were not so fortunate.

You walked into the kitchen, seeing your mom clad in hair rollers and a bath robe. She turned around, not only surprised to see you out of bet at this time, but also with curled hair, and wearing a dress.

"Wow.... Who are you, and what have you done with Ellis?" She joked, leaning back on the counter behind her to allow a better view of you.

"I know, I know... I'm just trying something new. Could you help me tie this?" You turned around, holding out the ribbons of the sash out to her.

"Of course, I'm so proud of you expanding your wardrobe." She commented. At least she didn't bring up the fact that you were wearing an actual bra today. You didn't want that conversation.

"Thanks, now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find some shoes to go with this." You turned on your heels, your bare feet clapping down the hallway as you walked.

Shoes.... You definitely didn't need high heels; you were already as tall as the other girls that wore them when you stood on flat feet. Also, you didn't know how to walk in them. If you tried, you might damage your other shoulder along with the rest of your body.

You didn't really have anything else in your closet though, except for converse and PF flyers. You figured it wouldn't matter what shoes you wore, as long as your dress looked okay. You pulled your PF flyers out and pulled them onto your feet, lacing them up.

You stood up and walked over to your mirror to check yourself out, and dang did you look different. You almost looked like the rest of the pretty girls at school.

You gave a little twirl of your skirt, seeing the way it spun around your body nicely.

You got distracted and you almost didn't hear the window of your room slide open. You'd started leaving your window open for Benny so he could just come in himself. You did this because usually you didn't wake up on time and he would have to get you up.

"Hey Benny." You waved at him before moving to grab a few things from your dresser. He hadn't looked at you yet, trying to still climb into the window without getting all dusty.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be awake yet, I-" He paused, finally looking up at you and seeing you all dressed up. You stood there kinda awkwardly, arms crossed behind your back, waiting for his reaction. His eyebrows raised and his jaw fell open, looking you up and down, then up again. "Wow."