Strike Zone

The summer air hung thick and heavy over Martinez's backyard, the kind of August afternoon that made everything feel possible and terrible all at once. I stood near the **pool**, nursing a warm soda, watching everyone else live their best lives while I stayed stuck in my head.

"Yo, Maya! You gonna stand there all day or actually join in?" Leo called out, wiping sweat from his forehead. He was shirtless, holding a **baseball** bat like he owned the place, which he basically did. Leo Martinez was the kind of guy who moved through life like the rules were just suggestions that happened to work in his favor.

I shrugged, pretending I didn't care. But my stomach did that nervous flutter thing whenever he looked at me.

"She's probably texting her college boyfriend," Hailey said, not looking up from her phone. She said it like it was a joke, but we both knew it wasn't. Hailey and I had been best friends since middle school, until she decided reinventing herself meant leaving everything behind—including me.

"For the hundredth time, we broke up," I said, my voice barely carrying over the splashing. "And I don't have a boyfriend. I don't have anything going on, actually. Thanks for asking."

A crack of thunder startled us all. The sky had turned that ominous purple-gray, the kind that meant serious weather incoming.

"Everyone inside! Now!" Mr. Martinez yelled from the back door. "There's **lightning** five miles out and moving fast!"

We scrambled toward the house, but I stopped at the edge of the patio. **Water** droplets the size of marbles began falling, cold and shocking against my skin. Something about the chaos felt right—like the weather was finally matching the mess inside my head.

Leo appeared beside me, rain plastering his hair to his forehead. "You coming?"

"In a minute," I said, not moving. "Leo, can I ask you something?"

He squinted through the rain. "Always dramatic, Maya. What's up?"

"Why does everyone act like they have it figured out? Like you, Hailey, everyone. I feel like I'm missing some manual everyone else got."

Leo surprised me by laughing. "Maya, I literally almost failed sophomore year. My parents think I'm hanging out with 'the right crowd' but I'm only here because Hailey said you'd be here."

My brain short-circuited. "Wait, what?"

"We're supposed to play **padel** tomorrow. My cousin has a court, and I was going to ask if you wanted to come. But I figured you'd say no because you've been avoiding me all summer."

The rain was pouring now, a full-on storm, and I couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. "I haven't been avoiding you. I've been... I don't know, existing? Awkwardly?"

"Same," Leo said, and the way he smiled made something click into place. "So, padel tomorrow? Or are you gonna keep standing in the rain being mysterious?"

"I'll be there," I said. "And Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Nobody has it figured out. But I think that's the point."

He nodded, and for once, I didn't feel like I was on the outside of something important. I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be—soaked, confused, and maybe, just maybe, starting to figure it out.