Swing and a Miss

Marcus felt like a straight-up zombie. Three hours of sleep after binge-watching The Walking Dead until 3 AM will do that to you. Now he stood at the edge of the baseball field, varsity jacket feeling too warm, heart doing cartwheels in his chest.

"You good, bro?" Jay asked, spinning his bat like it was nothing.

"Yeah. Just tired." Marcus tugged at his collar.

She was there. Maya, leaning against the chain-link fence, hair falling over her shoulder like she'd planned it that way. Fox. That's what his older sister would've called her. A total fox. And Marcus was about to embarrass himself in front of her.

Coach blowed his whistle. "Marcus, you're up!"

He stepped to the plate. The bat felt heavy. His palms were sweating. Behind him, someone whispered something that made Maya laugh. That laugh? It did something to his stomach that he couldn't explain.

First pitch: swing and a miss. Air ball. The universe's way of reminding him that sports were not his thing.

"Come on, Marcus!" his mom called from the stands. She'd brought spinach salad again. Probably because she'd read some article about brain food or whatever. Last time, he'd spent twenty minutes picking pieces out of his braces at lunch while everyone watched. Trauma, honestly.

Second pitch: foul tip. His hands stung.

Third pitch—he connected. Actually connected. The ball soared toward left field, past the infielder's glove. Marcus sprinted, lungs burning, legs pumping. He rounded first, kept going. Second base. The crowd cheered. Maya was cheering.

He slid into third, dirt spraying everywhere, jeans totally ruined. His mom would kill him. But Maya was looking right at him, actually looking at him, and for the first time all week, he didn't feel like a zombie anymore. He felt real.

"Safe!" the ump yelled.

Marcus stood up, grinning like an idiot. Ground into his knees, dirt everywhere. Later, he'd have to explain the grass stains. Later, he'd remember he was grounded from cable for a month because of the C+ in chemistry. Later.

But right now, Maya caught his eye and smiled.

Yeah. Worth it.