The Art of Faking It

Maya's thumb hovered over the Instagram profile like it was defusing a bomb. Her iPhone screen glowed in the darkness of her room, illuminating the scattered vitamin bottles on her nightstand — her mom's latest obsession with "wellness" meant Maya had to choke down these chalky tablets every morning like they were magic beans.

She wasn't technically a spy, but watching Leo's stories at 2 AM felt close enough. His latest post: the baseball field at dusk. OF COURSE. Maya had been crushing on him since September, when he'd let her borrow his extra glove in gym class. Now he was posting artsy photos of the empty diamond like some soft-boi influencer.

"You coming to the game tomorrow?" her best friend Jordyn had asked at lunch. Maya had played it cool, shrugging like she hadn't already memorized the baseball schedule.

"Maybe. If I'm not busy."

Busy doing what? Exactly.

The next day, Maya stood in the bleachers wearing her dad's old varsity jacket, trying to look like someone who understood the nuances of America's pastime. Their school mascot was literally a bear — some poor freshman sweating inside a polyester costume that smelled like middle school regret.

Leo was on the mound, pitching like his life depended on it. Maya felt ridiculous. She'd spent weeks analyzing his social media like it was classified intel, and here she was, nervous to even say hey.

"Nice hit!" someone screamed behind her. Maya turned to see the bear mascot breakdancing in the aisle, clearly ignoring whatever dignity remained.

Then Leo looked up.

Right at her.

Maya's stomach did that thing where it forgot how to be an organ. She waved awkwardly. He grinned and pointed.

After the game — they lost, whatever — she found him by the dugout, still in his uniform, dirt on his cheeks like war paint.

"Hey,"

"Hey." Smooth, Maya. So smooth.

"You came."

"Yeah. I mean, baseball's cool."

"I saw you watching my stories."

Maya's face burned hotter than summer pavement. "I—"

"I was waiting for you to reply."

Her brain short-circuited. "What?"

Leo laughed, pulling his phone from his pocket. "I kept posting baseball stuff hoping you'd comment. Why do you think I posted so many aesthetic field photos? I don't even care about baseball that much."

Maya blinked. "Wait, you were trying to get MY attention?"

"Since you lent me that vitamin water in October. I've been playing the long game."

"The long game?"

"Yeah. Unlike the actual game, which we somehow lost."

The bear mascot lumbered past them, high-fiving random strangers.

"So," Leo said, "wanna get food? I promise no more talk about vitamins or baseball bears."

Maya smiled, finally. "I'd like that."

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Jordyn: "well???"

Maya ignored it. Some things were worth experiencing without documenting them first.