Swing and a Miss

Maya stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, her normally sleek curls frizzy from this morning's rain. Her mom was always pushing those hair vitamins on her, claiming they'd make her hair shine like the girls in TikTok videos. Maya just wanted to blend in, which was basically impossible when your hair had a personality of its own.

Her iPhone buzzed with a notification from Instagram: Jaden was at the baseball field. Of course he was. Jaden, who'd moved here from California last month and somehow made everything look effortless—hitting home runs, making everyone laugh, even making geometry seem bearable.

Maya grabbed her hoodie and headed out, her phone practically burning in her pocket. She'd been drafted into taking photos for the school paper, which was both a blessing and curse. It meant she had a reason to be at the game, but also meant she'd spend three hours pretending she knew anything about sports while panicking whenever someone looked in her direction.

The bleachers were packed. Maya squeezed into a spot near the front, adjusting her camera like it was armor. Jaden was up at bat, his uniform crisp against the emerald field. When he connected with the ball, the sound echoed like thunder. The crowd went wild. Maya's thumb hovered over her phone screen, ready to capture the perfect shot for her story.

"Hey, you're Maya, right?" A girl slid onto the bleacher beside her—Chloe, the pitcher with the perfect ponytail that never moved. "Jaden was asking who takes all those amazing photos for the paper."

Maya's stomach did that thing it did whenever she was put on the spot. "Oh, um, thanks?"

"He thinks your shots are sick," Chloe continued, like this was the most normal information in the world. "He's gonna come say hi after the game."

Before Maya could process this, her camera slipped. She lunged to catch it, dropping her phone in the process. It clattered down three rows of bleachers, landing near Jaden's cleats in the dugout.

He picked it up, grinning. "This yours?" Everyone was watching. Her lock screen photo—a goofy selfie with her cat—was visible to the entire baseball team.

"Yeah," she managed, her face burning. "Thanks."

"Nice pic," Jaden said, genuinely. "Hey, can you show me how you get those action shots next game? I've been trying to get good ones for my grandma but they always turn out blurry."

Maya nodded, possibly too enthusiastically. "Definitely."

Walking home later, Maya caught her reflection in a storefront window. Her hair was still messy. Her phone had survived. And she had plans to teach Jaden something about photography. Maybe those vitamins were working after all—or maybe she was just finally seeing herself clearly.