We were all walking on air that night.
It had been a solid victory.
In fact, we beat the crap out of Phillips's team.
And Benny and I were official. We hadn't told the Sandlot boys yet, but we were going to.
So we all went to celebrate at the town's carnival.
And the Sandlot boys did the stupidest thing...any of them had ever done...
"Hey guys, it's all on me tonight," Benny smiled as the Sandlot boys and I stood in line.
"Thanks, Benny!" The boys said in unison, clapping Benny on the back.
I smiled.
"Ten tickets, please," Benny told the lady at the ticket booth.
He handed her the money and she gave him the tickets.
"Hey, Benny," The boys reached out for their tickets and Benny handed one to each of them.
"Thanks, Benny," I said to him as he gave me my ticket.
"Of course," Benny smiled and winked at me, making the butterflies in my stomach stir.
"Come on, you guys!" Squints shouted.
We all ran to go look for a ride when Bertram shouted at us, catching our attention.
"Aw, crap! I almost forgot!" He groaned.
"What?" Ham asked. "What?"
"Chaw! I was saving it for a good time," Bertram smiled, bringing out a bag of something.
Benny and Kenny fist bumped beside me as I raised an eyebrow at Bertram.
I had only heard about adults using Chaw and I wasn't sure the boys should use it...I definitely knew I wasn't going to.
"What is it?" My brother asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Big Chief," Bertram sniffed the stuff in the bag and then let out a dramatic sigh.
"Jeez, Smalls. I suppose you don't even know who The Babe is either," Ham joined in.
The boys all laughed as they looked at my very confused brother. I just rolled my eyes and sighed.
"It's plug. Wad. Chewing tobacco," Ham continued.
"'Baccy, man," Benny joined in.
"What do you do with it?" Scotty asked, still confused.
The boys all gave Scotty shocked looks, looking at me and then back at my brother.
"You're killing me, Smalls," Ham sighed, putting some of the Chaw into his mouth. "Chew it, of course. Yes."
"You do?" Scotty raised an eyebrow as he looked at the stuff in the bag.
"Yeah, sure, man," Kenny joined in. "All the pros do it."
"Yeah, yeah. Gives you tons of energy," Yeah-Yeah nodded.
"Let's dip. Let's dip," Ham said.
They all reached in and grabbed some as they passed it around. Benny didn't grab any and just looked at me as the boys were muttering how good it was.
I could tell Benny was waiting to see what my move was before he took some for himself.
"Aren't you going to take some, Little Red?" Ham asked, pushing the bag towards me.
I could smell it and it didn't smell good at all.
"No, thanks," I said, scrunching my nose.
There was no way I would put that in my mouth. You'd have to pay me a million dollars.
Benny raised an eyebrow at me.
I shrugged.
"You can have some though," I said, turning to look at him. "Don't let me stop your fun."
"That's ok," Benny shrugged. "I have plenty of fun just being with you."
I felt my stomach flip as I smiled at him.
"Thanks, Benny," I said.
He nodded.
"Before we ride the ride...," Ham said, looking over at Benny and I. "Are we going to talk about the two of you?"
The Sandlot boys turned their attention towards Benny and I and all nodded in agreement.
"What about us?" Benny smirked.
"You guys seem too close to be friends," Squints added.
The boys all nodded and muttered "yeahs."
Benny looked over at me as if asking for permission to tell them. I nodded.
He looked back at the Sandlot boys.
"We're dating," Benny said with a shrug and a big grin.
I smiled as the boys started cheering and congratulating us. They patted Benny on the back.
"Go Benny!" The boys whistled.
I laughed to myself.
"Wait...since when?" Scotty asked.
"Last night," I said. "We just made it official."
"Wow," Ham said. "Go you too."
"I knew it," Bertram muttered.
"Took you two long enough," Kenny smiled.
"Wait...this doesn't mean anything is going to change with playing, does it?" Squints asked.
"No," I shook my head. "Don't worry. I won't steal Benny from you guys and I'm still playing with all of you."
The Sandlot boys all nodded and muttered "goods."
"Now let's ride!" Ham shouted.
The boys cheered as they followed Ham to a ride.
I followed behind them as a hand grabbed mine, pulling me back.
I turned to see Benny staring at me.
"I have a different idea," Benny smiled.
"Oh yeah?" I smiled back. "What's that?"
Benny didn't answer, but instead pulled me after him through the crowd of people at the carnival.