The Sphinx at Shortstop

Leo stood at shortstop, sweat trickling down his spine under the brutal afternoon sun. Baseball tryouts were happening, and his stomach was doing gymnastics that would've impressed his gymnast ex-girlfriend Maya.

His iPhone buzzed in his back pocket—probably the group chat roasting him for bailing on laser tag last weekend. But he couldn't focus on that now. Coach Miller was watching like a sphinx, inscrutable from behind mirrored sunglasses, his expression giving away nothing. Leo had spent all winter practicing his fielding, watching MLB highlights until his eyes burned, trying to prove he wasn't just the kid who choked in the finals last year.

"HUSTLE!" someone shouted, and Leo's body snapped into autopilot. A line drive came rocketing toward the hole between second and third. He lunged, glove extended, everything narrowing to that one white sphere spinning through the air—

—and caught it. The ball thudded into his pocket like it belonged there.

"Nice," a voice said behind him.

Leo turned. It was Harper, the sophomore who'd transferred from some fancy private school. She stood there with her phone out, Snapchat camera pointed at him. "You move like a fox," she said, completely serious.

He blinked. "That's... specific?"

"My little brother's obsessed with nature documentaries. Foxes are apparently super agile." She lowered her phone. "I'm Harper. Also, you've been standing there grinning at your glove for like thirty seconds."

Leo's face heated up. "Right. Baseball."

"Wanna get boba after tryouts? There's this place that does taro tea with—"

"Boba." He'd never tried it. Maya always said it was overpriced sugar water. But Maya wasn't standing here at the edge of the baseball diamond, looking at him like he was actually worth talking to.

"Only if you promise not to Snapchat my embarrassing moments," Leo said.

Harper's grin was genuine. "No promises."

Coach Miller blew his whistle. "Let's GO!"

Leo jogged back to his position, his heart pounding for a completely different reason now. For the first time since last season's disastrous finale, he thought maybe this year wouldn't be about proving himself to everyone else. Maybe it would be about figuring out who he was when nobody was watching.

His pocket buzzed again. Leo ignored it.