Summer Curveballs

The first day of junior year, Tyler decided he was done being the quiet kid who sat in the back. His master plan started with two things: trying out for the **baseball** team and finally talking to Maya, the girl who'd sat behind him in homeroom since freshman year.

"You're doing what now?" His best **friend** since kindergarten, Ben, stared at him across the cafeteria table like he'd grown a second head. "Bro, you haven't picked up a bat since Little League. And Maya? She's literally out of your league."

"Watch me." Tyler tossed his backpack over his shoulder, even though his stomach was doing nervous cartwheels.

That afternoon at tryouts, Tyler swung at every pitch like his life depended on it. By the time he walked home, his arms felt like jelly and his dignity was bruising nicely. But somehow, someway, he'd made the cut as a backup outfielder.

"My mom says I need more **vitamin** D," Tyler announced at dinner that night, carefully placing the most exotic fruit he could find at the grocery store on the kitchen table. "So I'm trying papaya."

His mom raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you eat papaya?"

"Since now."

The papaya sat in his lunchbox the next day like a radioactive experiment. When Maya plopped down beside him at lunch—not by accident, he hoped, but probably by accident—Tyler's brain short-circuited.

"Is that... papaya?" She pointed at his Tupperware.

"Yeah. I'm expanding my palate." Tyler tried to sound sophisticated. "Want some?"

Maya laughed, and it was better than he'd imagined. "Sure, why not."

They sat there sharing this weird tropical fruit while she told him about her summer job at the ice cream stand and he admitted he'd only made the baseball team because the coach needed someone who could actually catch fly balls. The papaya was okay—kind of musky, honestly—but talking to Maya was easy.

"So," she said, licking a drop of papaya juice from her thumb. "You coming to the game Friday?"

"Playing in it, actually."

"Even better." She grinned. "I'll be there."

Ben found him later by his locker, shaking his head. "Dude, since when do you eat papaya? That's literally the weirdest thing ever."

Tyler shrugged, feeling lighter than he had in years. "Sometimes you gotta try new things."

"Whatever." Ben grinned. "Just don't strike out in front of Maya."

"No promises."