Zombie Base Runner

Maya sat behind the backstop, phone clutched like a weapon in her palm. Another day of #baseball practice, another afternoon playing spectator while her crush Jake smashed home runs. She'd become a pro at this—basically a #spy at this point. She knew Jake's post-game ritual (Gatorade blue, never red), his pre-game playlist (all Drake, surprise surprise), and exactly when he'd run his hand through his hair after a good hit.

Not that she'd ever actually talk to him. That would require not being a total #zombie whenever he was within fifty feet. Her brain just—shut down. Lips sealed. Voice box mysteriously malfunctioning. Classic Maya behavior.

"Hey."

Maya nearly jumped out of her skin. Jake stood there, swinging his bat casually like it weighed nothing. Up close, he smelled like dirt and sunscreen and somehow that made everything worse.

"You're here every day," he said. It wasn't a question.

"I—yeah. My brother, Tommy? He's on the team."

Total lie. Tommy was five and could barely hold a wiffle bat.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Tommy who transferred last week?"

Maya's face burned. She'd been caught. The social equivalent of striking out looking. Bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, and she'd forgotten to swing.

"Okay, fine. I was watching you." The words tumbled out before she could stop them. "Happy now? You caught me. I'm creepy. I'll leave."

She started gathering her stuff, cheeks flaming, already composing her mental resignation letter from dignity itself.

"I was hoping you would say that," Jake said.

Maya froze. "What?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for weeks." He actually laughed. "You're always staring at your phone like it holds the secrets to the universe. I was starting to think you were a vampire or something—never at any of the games, just practice."

Maya's brain short-circuited. Then rebooted. Then short-circuited again. "You... noticed me?"

"You're kind of hard to miss." He grinned. "So, Friday night. There's this party at Tyler's. You going?"

The zombie spell lifted. For the first time in months, Maya felt something like hope.

"Maybe," she said, and somehow managed a smile back. "Depends. You gonna ask me properly, or do I have to guess?"

Jake laughed—really laughed—and Maya thought maybe, just maybe, she'd finally stepped up to the plate.