Zombie Batter's Last Swing

Maya's palms were sweating through her batting gloves as she stepped up to the plate. The regional semifinals. Bottom of the seventh. Two outs, bases loaded. Her team was down by two runs, and honestly? She felt like a zombie. Between finals, college applications, and her mom's constant questions about her future plans, she'd been running on fumes and energy drinks for weeks.

"You got this, Mays!" called Leo from the dugout. Her best friend since elementary school, the one person who didn't treat her differently since she'd come out as bi last month. The same person who'd given her that ridiculous stuffed bear for good luck before every game since sophomore year. The bear was currently squished into her bat bag, its ear missing from when her dog had chewed it freshman year.

The pitcher wound up. Maya tightened her grip. Her heart was hammering like it might burst right through her ribs. This was it. The moment every backyard practice session, every team bus singalong, every late-night study session with Leo complaining about his terrible luck with dating had been leading toward.

Strike one.

She stepped out, took a breath. Remembered what Leo always said: "You're not just proving something to them. You're proving something to yourself."

Second pitch. Ball.

The crowd's roar faded to background noise. She found her focus, that clearing where her mind went quiet and everything made sense. Not the zombie-fogged overthinker who couldn't decide between pre-med and graphic design. Just Maya, baseball player.

The pitch came. Fast. Outside corner.

Perfect.

Her bat connected with a sound like thunder. The ball soared toward the gap in left-center field. Maya dropped the bat and sprinted, her legs pumping, the bases blurring beneath her cleats. Two runs scored. Three runs scored. She slid into home just as the throw arrived—safe by a heartbeat.

Her teammates dogpiled her right there in the dirt. Leo was the first to reach her, grinning like crazy. "Told you that bear brings luck, even if your dog tried to eat it."

Maya laughed, breathless and muddy and absolutely alive. Maybe she didn't have everything figured out yet. But right now, right here? She was exactly where she was supposed to be.