Lightning in the Outfield

Marcus's mom swore her weird **vitin** routine would change his life. The neon orange pills sat on the kitchen counter every morning like accusations. 'You're growing, baby. Your body needs fuel.' Yeah, and he needed to not look like a string bean in his **baseball** uniform, but that wasn't happening either.

Coach barked from the dugout, 'Johnson, you're up!' Marcus adjusted his cap, trying to look confident. His **hair** was another disaster—curly, uncooperative, and definitely not the sleek waves everyone else seemed to have effortlessly. But he pulled his cap lower and stepped up to the plate.

Then he saw her. Skylar. The new girl who'd transferred from somewhere cooler than their nowhere town, sitting on the bleachers with her phone, probably **spying** on everyone's tragic attempts to be interesting. Marcus's pulse kicked up. He'd been lowkey stalking her socials for weeks (just research, not creepy) but in person she was devastating.

'You gonna swing or dream, Johnson?' someone yelled.

Marcus gripped the bat. First pitch—strike. Second pitch—foul. Third pitch came like fate, and he connected. The ball sailed toward left field where Skylar sat. But as he rounded first base, the sky tore open.

**Lightning** cracked the horizon like a fractured mirror. Thunder shook the metal bleachers. The game vanished into chaos—players scattering, coaches screaming, parents grabbing coolers. Marcus bolted toward the dugout but stopped. Skylar was still there, phone abandoned, watching the storm.

'Hey!' he yelled over the rain. 'You gotta come inside!'

She grinned at him, wild-eyed. 'I love storms.' Then she darted toward the concession stand, and Marcus followed, heart hammering like it never had during any game. They ducked under the awning, soaked and breathless.

'I'm Marcus,' he said, water dripping from his cap brim.

'Skylar.' She pushed soaked hair from her face. 'Nice hit.'

The storm raged, but Marcus couldn't feel the cold. Maybe those vitamins really were life-changing—or maybe this was just something better.