Carnival Prizes and Curveballs
The baseball cap pulled low over my eyes wasn't doing its job. Every time Maya glanced my way from the bleachers, I felt my palm sweating against the aluminum bench like I'd been g...
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The baseball cap pulled low over my eyes wasn't doing its job. Every time Maya glanced my way from the bleachers, I felt my palm sweating against the aluminum bench like I'd been g...
Maya's iPhone died at 11:47 PM during the worst thunderstorm of sophomore year. Typical. She'd been recording a TikTok dance in her backyard when the sky turned that weird purple-g...
The pool was empty at 6 AM, which was exactly how Leo liked it. Just him, the water, and maybe a few stray hair floats from the night before. He'd been swimming laps every morning ...
The sky over Oakbridge Pool cracked open like an egg about to spill its secrets. Maya crouched behind the old storage shed, heart hammering against her ribs. The annual summer kick...
The beanie was basically glued to my head at this point. Fresh bad haircuts will do that to you. I'd spent the last three days looking like a human mushroom, and the only thing kee...
Freshman year, I thought I had it all figured. My best friend since kindergarten, Tyler, and me—two peas in a painfully basic pod. Then sophomore year hit like a truck and Tyler de...
Maya's fingers flew across her iPhone screen at lightning speed, double-tapping, swiping up, heart-reacting like her social life depended on—which, let's be real, it basically did....
Marcus choked down the horse-pill sized **vitamin** his dad swore would make him hit harder, gagging slightly as he grabbed his gear bag. Tryouts for varsity were tomorrow, and the...
My palms are literally dripping. Like, I might actually slide right off this bleacher seat. "You good?" Maya whispers, side-eyeing me. "Fine," I lie, wiping my hands on my jeans ...
I'd had spinach stuck in my teeth for three innings and nobody told me. That's what I get for trying to look casual leaning against the dugout fence while Maya watched from the ble...
Maya's first week at Northwood High felt like climbing a pyramid scheme where everyone at the top had already forgotten what the bottom looked like. She'd spent forty-five minutes ...
Maya's lungs burned like she'd swallowed actual fire. Cross country practice wasn't supposed to be this intense on day three, but Coach Davis had decided last minute that they need...