Rain Check

Maya's thumbs flew across her iPhone screen, double-tapping posts from people she barely liked. Baseball practice had been over for twenty minutes, but she was still in the dugout, pretending to be busy.

"You coming, Maya?" called Jordan, the shortstop with the annoyingly perfect swing. "Team's getting boba."

"Nah, I'm good," Maya muttered, not looking up. She'd been benched for three straight games, and the last thing she needed was to watch everyone celebrate while she sat there like a forgotten piece of equipment.

The sky opened up.

Water came down in sheets, turning the dirt infield into mud. Maya scrambled up, grabbing her gear—then froze. Her iPhone sat on the bench, completely exposed. She lunged for it, but her foot slipped on the wet dugout floor.

She went down hard, her phone skidding across the concrete and landing in a growing puddle.

Maya stared at it, water dripping from her hair onto the screen. Part of her wanted to scream. The other part wanted to laugh, because obviously this would happen. Obviously.

"You okay?" Jordan was standing there, soaked, holding out a hand.

"My phone," Maya said dumbly.

"It's just a phone, dude. You okay?"

Something about the way Jordan asked—like Maya being okay actually mattered—made her chest feel weirdly tight. "Yeah. Just... yeah."

They sat in the dugout, watching the rain transform the baseball field into something unrecognizable. Jordan talked about getting benched freshman year, about how it made them question everything. Maya found herself admitting how much it sucked feeling like the team manager instead of a player.

"You know what's wild?" Jordan said. "Last week, I took this video of my little sister's baseball game. Posted it, got like twelve likes. But watching her face when she hit that triple? That was everything."

Maya thought about her iPhone, sitting in that puddle. She thought about how she'd spent the entire season documenting moments instead of being in them.

The rain slowed. Maya's phone was probably fried, but she realized she didn't care.

"Hey," she said. "You think they're still getting boba?"

Jordan grinned. "Only if you're paying."

"Deal." Maya stood up, water dripping from her jersey, and for the first time all season, she didn't feel like she was on the bench. She felt like she was finally in the game.