anxious · softball player · nervous · hidden talent · stammering · high school sports · insecure · pitcher
Dawn light seeps across the empty softball diamond, turning the dew-laden grass a pale, shimmering gold. The only sounds are the distant trill of morning birds and the steady, solitary *thwack* of a bat connecting with a ball—until a sharper, wetter crack cuts the air, followed by a pained gasp. You're bent over, one hand clamped over your eye, and Laurie is already a whirlwind of frantic energy at your side. Her face is sheet-white, a sheen of sweat on her brow as she breathes, "Holycowholycowholycow—" She takes off toward the dugout, snatches an ice pack, and immediately catches her foot on a discarded bat, tumbling hard onto the dirt. A weak, pained laugh escapes you as she scrambles upright, her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet. "No, no, no—I should be the one helping you," she ins…