Lightning in the Seventh Inning

The hat was ridiculous. A neon-blue bucket hat with 'ZOMBIE EAT YOUR BRAINS' embroidered across the front. My sister's handiwork. I'd promised to wear it to the baseball game if she helped me pass chemistry.

Now I stood behind the concession stand, feeling like a total loser while everyone else looked actually normal. Jake from my history class leaned against the fence, laughing with his friends. Jake, who I'd been lowkey crushing on since September.

"Nice hat," a voice said behind me. I jumped.

It was Jake. Up close, his eyes were the color of a stormy sky. "Seriously. It's bold."

"My sister made it," I mumbled, wanting to melt into the pavement. "I'm doomed to wear it forever."

"You look like you're about to face a zombie apocalypse." He grinned, and I felt something flutter in my chest that had nothing to do with fear.

A crack of lightning split the sky. The game announcement echoed: 'Weather delay.' People scattered. Jake caught my arm. "My car's this way."

We ran through the rain, dodging toward the parking lot. My hat fell off. I skidded to grab it—

And froze. Fifty feet away, a black bear foraged through a dumpster, completely unbothered by the chaos.

"Is that—" Jake started.

"A bear. Yes. That's a bear."

We stood there, dripping wet, while the bear finished its snack and lumbered off into the woods. Jake started laughing. I did too. Something about the absurdity of it all—the zombie hat, the sudden storm, the random bear—broke something open inside me.

"You're okay with this?" I asked. "The hat, the bear, everything?"

Jake looked at me, rain plastering his hair to his forehead. "I think you're kind of amazing."

I picked up my hat and put it back on. Neon blue and ridiculous. And for the first time, I didn't hate it.

"Want to get food?" Jake asked. "We can wait out the storm together."

"Yes," I said. "Absolutely yes."