The Fox in the Outfield

Maya adjusted her orange baseball cap, trying to look casual while her stomach did cartwheels. Tryouts today. Finally. Her dad had been making her take vitamin supplements every morning since she announced she was going out for the team—because apparently being the only girl on the boys' baseball squad required extra nutrients.

"You nervous?" Jake asked, leaning against the dugout fence. His hair was perfectly messy, the kind that took effort. Maya had been crushing on him since seventh period science.

"Nah," she lied. "Just ready to crush it."

"For sure." He grinned, and her heart did that stupid flutter thing. "Watch out for Tyler, though. He's been acting like a total bull since you signed up. Something about tradition and girls ruining the game."

Great. Just what she needed—Tyler's toxic masculinity as an encore to her already-existing anxiety.

Coach blew the whistle. "Batting practice! Maya, you're up."

Her hands shook as she gripped the bat. The first pitch came high and inside. Ball. The second, she fouled off. The third—she connected. Solid crack. The ball sailed toward the fence, bounced, and kept going.

"Whoa," someone muttered.

Tyler, catching in center field, scrambled after it. But he wasn't fast enough. That fox-like quickness Coach always talked about? Maya had it. She rounded first, then second, watching Tyler's face get redder with every base.

"What's wrong, Tyler?" she called from third. "Traditional enough for you?"

Some of the guys snickered. Even Coach's mouth twitched.

"Nice," Jake said, when she jogged back in. "You're gonna make the team for sure."

"Whatever." Maya shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Just baseball."

But later, when Coach posted the roster and her name was there as starting second base, she couldn't stop smiling. Tyler stormed past her without a word. Jake caught her eye and gave her this look—like he was impressed, yeah, but also like he was seeing her differently.

"Hey," he said. "Wanna grab food? My treat. To celebrate."

"Yeah," said Maya, adjusting her orange cap and grinning like she'd just hit the best day of her life. "Absolutely."