→SCOTTY SMALLS←

《It was the summer of '94...》

SCHOOL WAS LET OUT not long before two new girls had arrived in the neighborhood. They were the talk of the town for about a week, but of course it died out. I had no interest in them whatsoever. They were gorgeous though, definitely. But, as someone once told me, "what do you think the chances are of you, Scotty Smalls, getting with a babe like her?" So, I left any thought of getting with one of them till about sophomore year, but that's another story. Unlike me, the rest of the guys had latched onto the idea of them and they weren't letting go anytime soon.

     That summer was just supposed to be about baseball, just like the summer before. Well, minus me getting us into the biggest pickle of all time. We had made a pact that we would stick to the game everyday, Sunday through Saturday. Benny called it "keeping us all in check," which had me confused for a long time-but I realized it was more for him then for us. Of course no pool, no store trips, and especially no girls. But, fate always seemed to have a way of screwing us over.

      Besides that, the summer had been an important one. I found out I was supposed to be having a baby brother. A baby brother who I was somehow supposed to teach everything I knew. Benny, Bertram, and Kenny all were heading into freshman year, while I was just heading into seventh. This was also the summer that the new mall opened up-and we guys were supposed to not go check it out due to our little "pact." Of course, that didn't happen.

Three girls. That's all it took to have the entire team go crazy. To us they were, as Marylin would say, "angels descended from the heavens." We were all suckers for the affect they had on us teenage boys, there was no doubt in a million years. I still remember us riding our bikes to the Sandlot the day they came. Yeah-Yeah and Squints had been late, for reasons. It was one of the first days of summer, and somehow it seemed to be the worst-and eventually would turn into the best. It's probably really confusing, but I guess I should start from the beginning.