The Orange Sunset Miracle

The baseball cap swallowed my hair like a hungry beast. Perfect. Exactly the vibe I needed when Jayden-from-English-class texted that he was coming to this game.

"You good, Mar?" My bestie Kenya raised an eyebrow, already knowing the answer.

I held up my iPhone like a shield. The screen showed three unread texts from Jayden and zero clue what to say back. Being fourteen and awkward was honestly a full-time job.

The July heat hit different - especially in the bleachers without shade. I watched the players on field, all confident and coordinated, while I sat here hyperventilating over a boy who probably didn't even know I existed.

"Water?" Kenya handed me a bottle. "You look like you're about to pass out."

I chugged it like my life depended on it. The cold water hit my stomach, but my nerves were still doing jumping jacks.

Then the impossible happened. Jayden appeared at the bottom of the bleachers, scanning the crowd. My brain short-circuited. He wasn't supposed to be here until the seventh inning. My hat suddenly felt stupid. My iPhone felt heavy. Everything felt wrong.

But he kept climbing up, and up, until-

"Hey!" He dropped into the seat next to me like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Saved you a spot."

I couldn't breathe. Did he mean ME? OR was he waiting for someone behind me?

Then his phone buzzed. The lock screen flashed - an orange sunset background with a tiny silhouette of a baseball field.

"My cousin's photography," Jayden said, catching me staring. "She thinks sports are boring, so she makes them look artsy."

The tension in my chest unraveled like a sweater with a loose thread. We talked about sunsets and cousins and how much we both hated baseball but loved the snacks. By the seventh inning, when the sky turned the exact shade of orange from his lock screen, I wasn't nervous anymore.

Some days, the universe just lines up. Hat hair and all.