The Pyramid Scheme

Maya's palms were sweating — literally sweating — through the fabric of her dad's old baseball hat. She clutched it like a lifeline, even though wearing it made zero sense indoors.

"You doing okay?" Carlos asked, barely looking up from his phone.

"Fine. Just nervous."

"About tryouts?" He snorted. "Dude, it's just the intramural team. Not the MLB."

Easy for him to say. Carlos played baseball like he was born with a glove in hand. Maya had picked up her first bat exactly three weeks ago, driven by what she now recognized as a very stupid very gay very huge crush on softball captain Sarah Jenkins.

The gym doors opened. Sarah walked in, cleats clicking against the floor, looking like she owned the place and everyone in it. Maya's heart did that embarrassing flutter thing.

"Alright, listen up!" Sarah clapped her hands. "We're doing something different today. Pyramid drills."

"Pyramid?" someone whispered.

"Yeah. Human pyramid. Catching grounders from the top." Sarah demonstrated, balancing easily on two teammates' shoulders. "It's about trust. Communication. Who's down?"

Maya's stomach dropped. This was a disaster waiting to happen. She raised her hand anyway.

"Me," she said, before she could chicken out.

Sarah's eyes locked onto hers. "Awesome. You're at the base."

The pyramid formed. Maya ended up at the bottom corner, shoulder pressed against Carlos, Sarah's cleated foot resting near her collarbone. Every instinct screamed run away but she stayed planted.

"Ready?" Sarah called from the top. "GO!"

The pyramid collapsed in spectacular fashion. Someone — maybe Maya, definitely Maya — slipped. They all went down in a tangle of limbs and laughter. Maya landed hard, palm scraping against the gym floor.

Sarah landed right next to her, grinning. "You okay?"

Maya looked up, flushed and disheveled, and somehow found her voice. "Yeah. That was... actually kind of fun?"

Sarah's smile widened. "You've got good form. Just work on your balance." She extended a hand. "Help me up?"

Maya took it, palm still stinging but not really caring.

"Same time next week?" Sarah asked, pulling her to her feet.

"Absolutely," Maya said, and meant it.