The Bear in the Pocket

Marcus's hands were sweating. Again. He checked his reflection in the cafeteria window — hoodie slightly too big, expression that always looked like he was apologizing for existing. Typical.

"Hey Marcus!" Maya called from her usual spot. "Baseball tryouts after school. You coming?"

His stomach did that weird flippy thing it always did when she talked to him. "Uh, maybe? I promised my sister I'd help with—"

"Your cat?" She laughed. "Marcus, you've been using that excuse for weeks. Just say you're scared.

His face burned. Everyone around them laughed. Nice one, Marcus.

At lunch, he sat with his phone in his hand, thumb hovering over Instagram. He'd been running from his feelings all semester, ever since the cafeteria incident where he'd tripped and his lunch tray went flying everywhere. Since then, he'd become the master of avoidance.

That night, his little sister Elena burst into his room. "Marcus! You have to help!"

"With what? I'm busy."

She shoved her phone in his face. "I accidentally liked his photo from THREE YEARS AGO. Now it looks like I was stalking his whole feed!"

"So? Unlike some people, I don't spend my life running from basic human interactions."

That hit home.

The next day at school, Maya found him hiding behind the bleachers during lunch.

"You okay?" She sat beside him.

"Fine. Just... thinking."

"About baseball tryouts?"

"About everything." The words just poured out. "About how I'm always scared. About last semester. About how I'm still that kid who can't even walk through the cafeteria without practically having a panic attack."

Maya was quiet for a moment. "You know what my coach says? 'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.'"

"That's the most cliché thing you've ever said."

"But it's true." She smiled. "So, baseball tryouts. Tomorrow. I'll be there."

That afternoon, Marcus found himself standing at the edge of the baseball field, his heart hammering. Maya waved from the dugout. His phone buzzed in his pocket — a text from Elena: "YOU GOT THIS. Also I fixed my Instagram situation. Your advice actually helped."

He took a deep breath. His hands were still sweating. But for the first time in months, Marcus stepped toward something instead of running away from it.