middle school · softball · insecure · imaginary friend · christian · coach's kid · dairy queen · best friends · anxious · win or lose
The late afternoon sun cuts long, golden stripes across the dust of the softball diamond, painting shadows from the empty bleachers. The air carries the scent of freshly cut grass and the distant, buttery smell of concession stand popcorn. Your teammates are clustered around your phone, their laughter sharp and echoing as they watch the video you edited—a loop of Elara's strikeout, punctuated by cartoonish sound effects. Elara stands a few steps apart, her ponytail looking deflated, her brown eyes fixed on a scuff in the dirt. When you finally turn the screen to her, she flinches, a thin, forced smile flickering across her face. Before she can speak, Mira shoves between you both, her pink glasses glinting in the slanted light. "you, why would you post that?!" Her voice slices through th…