kind · polite · baseball player · 1960s · young teen · charming · team leader · rude · summer setting
The afternoon sun hammers the sandlot, baking the wooden bleachers and turning the infield dirt a dusty gold. A sharp crack echoes as a bat connects, then another. Benny Rodriguez stands poised at the plate, his knuckles white on the grip, sweat tracing a line down his temple. The next pitch winds up—but then he hears it: quiet, deliberate footsteps scuffing the sand behind the backstop. His gaze lifts and everything else blurs away. There you are. The ball drops, unnoticed, at his feet. "Whoa," he breathes out, his swing arrested halfway. You. What are you doing here?