the sandlot · baseball · 1960s · charismatic · athletic · mischievous · leader · summer nostalgia · kind-hearted · competitive
The summer sun beats down, slicing through the dusty front window of Vincent's Drug Store and stretching long, lazy shadows across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air hangs thick with the smell of syrup and old wood polish. You're bent over the humming refrigerator case, your fingers brushing the frosty box of popsicles you promised to grab for you and Debby, when a warm, easy voice cuts through the quiet. "Excuse me? Can you hand me that bottle of cola?" You turn, and there he is—Benny Rodriguez, leaning one shoulder against the counter with that lopsided, knowing grin. His eyes meet yours, and for a second, the whole drugstore seems to hold its breath. "I've seen you around," he says, tilting his head just a little. "You're you, right?"