Strike Zone

Maya's frizzy halo of curls had declared war on humidity, and today of all days, she was losing.

"Dude, your hair is literally a situation," said Jordan, cracking their gum while adjusting their catcher's mask. "You're on in ten."

"Thanks, bestie. Really feeling the confidence right now." Maya yanked her team cap lower. "This sphinx headpiece is going to be a nightmare."

The North High Wildcats were dead last in the league, which was why Principal Torres had decided a brand new mascot would *obviously* turn things around. A sphinx. Because nothing strikes fear in your opponents quite like an ancient Egyptian mythological creature with riddles.

Riddles. Right.

The stands were half-empty, which meant her parents and the baseball boys' girlfriends would witness her humiliation in high definition. She pulled the polyester sphinx head over her curls, the world going muffled and smelling faintly of freshman year gym class.

"Maya! You got this!" Her dad's voice cut through the fabric.

The game was already a mess. Their pitcher kept overthrowing, and the other team was absolutely crushing it. Then she saw him—Evan from her AP History class, who she'd been lowkey crushing on since September—sitting three rows back with his friends.

Great.

First base runners started rounding toward home. The score was tied, bottom of the ninth, and suddenly the entire stadium erupted. Someone had hit it deep—really deep. The ball soared toward the outfield fence where Maya stood trapped in her sphinx costume.

Everything slowed down. She could hear her heart pounding. The ball was coming straight for her.

Then it hit her—not the ball, but the realization. Nobody could see her face. Nobody knew it was Maya under there, barely five feet tall, overthinking everything, constantly worried about fitting in.

She scrambled toward the fence, her sphinx tail flopping ridiculously behind her. The ball bounced off the fence—directly at her.

Without thinking, she made a desperate, one-handed catch. The crowd went absolutely feral.

As her teammates rushed toward her, lifting the sphinx onto their shoulders, lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating everything in this wild, electric flash.

She saw Evan cheering. He was looking right at her.

Underneath the hot, heavy costume, with sweat sticking her hair to her forehead and her heart absolutely pounding, Maya grinned.

Being the sphinx? Yeah, it was ridiculous. But sometimes ridiculous was exactly what you needed to find your courage.