The Sphinx in Right Field

Maya sat three rows up from the dugout, pretending to care about the baseball game while actually caring about Nick's arms when he pitched. She'd been crushing on him since algebra, which was impressive considering she'd never managed more than a 'hey' in his direction.

'They're gonna lose,' said Chloe, her best friend since fourth grade, currently shoving nachos into her face like they were going out of style.

'They're not gonna lose,' Maya insisted, even though they were down by four and Nick looked exhausted from running those bases earlier. He'd given up three home runs, but honestly Maya admired the commitment.

'That's not what I meant,' Chloe said, gesturing with a nacho. 'I mean you and the spinach incident of twenty minutes ago are gonna lose whatever shot you had.'

Maya's hand flew to her teeth.

'It's gone,' Chloe reassured her. 'I brushed it away after you spent five minutes in the bathroom having an existential crisis.'

Still mortified, Maya slouched in her seat. The cafeteria encounter replayed in her head: she'd been smiling at Nick, ready to finally say something cool, when Ryan had loudly announced she had spinach in her teeth. The entire lunch table had erupted.

Something moved beyond the right field fence.

A fox emerged from the trees, its red coat glowing against the emerald outfield grass. It stood frozen, watching the game like it understood the rules.

'Whoa,' said Chloe.

Nick wound up for a pitch. The fox turned tail and vanished, running back toward the woods.

He threw a strike. The crowd roared.

'That was sick,' Chloe admitted.

'The fox or the pitch?'

'Both. But mostly that you finally stopped staring at Nick like he's a Greek god and started looking at literally anything else.'

Maya watched Nick. He'd seen the fox too — he was looking toward the fence, grinning. Their eyes met. He didn't look away.

'Maybe life isn't a riddle,' Maya said, thinking about the sphinx she'd learned about in English class, how it guarded secrets and demanded answers. 'Maybe you don't have to solve it. You just have to show up.'

'For baseball?'

'For everything.'

Chloe rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. 'So you're gonna talk to him?'

'Maybe.'

'Now?'

'After he wins this game.'

Nick struck out the next batter. The game wasn't over, but something had shifted. The fox appeared again near the fence, watching like it belonged there.

Maya wasn't sure what would happen after the game, or if Nick would even remember her from lunch. But for the first time, she thought maybe she didn't need to be perfect. She just needed to be there.