The Vitamin C Cat Pitch

Marcus stood in front of his bathroom mirror, swallowing his third orange vitamin C gummy of the morning. His mom had bought them in bulk, convinced they'd keep him healthy through freshman year, but Marcus mostly liked how they made his tongue turn slightly yellow.

"You're gonna be late, sweetie!" his mom called up the stairs.

"Coming!"

Marcus grabbed his backpack and bolted. Today was the day—baseball tryouts. The thing he'd been stressing about since eighth grade graduation, when his older cousin Jay had told him, "High school's different, bro. You gotta make the team or you're literally nobody."

He wasn't even good at baseball. He could barely hit the ball. But everyone was doing it—his crush, Sofia, played softball. His best friend, Tyrell, had been practicing his swing since August. Even the weird kids who sat behind him in algebra were talking about trying out.

The walk to school took him past Mrs. Henderson's house, where her orange tabby cat, Pumpkin, sat on the front porch like it owned the entire neighborhood. Marcus stopped. Pumpkin stared at him with that judgmental look cats do, like it knew he was about to embarrass himself.

"What?" Marcus whispered. "You think I can't do it?"

Pumpkin licked its paw.

Marcus kept walking, heart pounding. The vitamin gummies were definitely not helping his nerves.

The field was already crowded when he arrived. Coach Miller was yelling something about hustle and determination. Marcus spotted Sofia near the dugout, laughing with her friends. Tyrell was doing practice swings with a bat he'd brought from home.

"Yo Marcus!" Tyrell waved him over. "You ready?"

"No," Marcus admitted. "I'm gonna throw up."

"Chill. You got this."

He didn't got this. Marcus struck out three times in a row. The third time, he didn't even touch the ball. Coach Miller sighed, and Marcus felt his face burn hotter than the sun.

But then—miracle of miracles—he made it to second base. And when a fly ball came his way, he actually caught it. His gloves closed around it like he'd been doing this his whole life. Everyone cheered. Sofia smiled at him.

Afterward, walking home on cloud nine, he stopped at Mrs. Henderson's house again. Pumpkin was still there.

"I did it," Marcus told the cat. "I didn't totally suck."

Pumpkin deigned to blink at him.

That night, Marcus stood in front of the mirror again, popping another vitamin C gummy. His tongue was definitely yellow now, and he was exhausted, and he had a blister forming on his heel. But he'd made the backup list. And tomorrow, he'd try again.

Sometimes being nobody wasn't so bad. Eventually, you'd be somebody. And you'd have a weird cat witness the whole thing.