Chapter 1 01

01

Sam

"Time out!" the umpire yelled, raising his arms high into the air.

I popped up from my crouch and jogged over to the pitcher's mound where my best friend Kyrn stood, hands on her hips, shoulders tense.

"Okay, Kyrn. You got this. The count is three-two. There are two outs and a runner on third base. One more strike, and we win the championships!" I said, doing my best to sound confident even though my heart was pounding just as hard as hers.

She gave me a nervous smile, her eyes darting around the field before landing on mine. "Thanks."

I flashed her a bright, encouraging grin. "Anytime."

After a quick fist bump, I sprinted back behind the plate and dropped into my crouch, settling into position. My glove was ready. I looked toward our coach, who stood just outside the dugout with his arms crossed and his signature focus locked on the field. He gave me the sign - inside ball. I nodded, subtly flashing the same signal to Kyrn.

She gave the faintest nod in return, took a deep breath, and wound up.

The ball soared from her hand like a bullet, perfectly inside. The batter swung and barely tipped it, sending it straight up into the sky. I yanked off my catcher's helmet and sprinted forward, tracking the ball.

"Mine!" Kyrn shouted, moving into position under the pop-up.

The first baseman and I flanked her just in case, ready to react if anything went wrong.

But Kyrn's glove snapped shut around the ball with a satisfying thud.

Cheers erupted instantly from the crowd.

"We won!" I screamed, launching myself at Kyrn. She caught me midair, staggering slightly but laughing with pure joy as she fought to keep us both from tumbling into the dirt.

"Northwestern High wins the championship! Northwestern High Wildcats are your 2013 softball champions!" the announcer boomed over the speakers.

All around us, our teammates rushed in, forming a chaotic circle of celebration in the middle of the diamond. There were hugs, high fives, tears, and laughter. The whole season-all the long practices, the freezing early mornings, the sunburns, and the bruises-had been leading up to this exact moment.

"Captains, would you like to do the honors?" one of our teammates called out, holding the big Gatorade jug with a mischievous smile.

Kyrn and I exchanged a look, grinning.

"Yes please," I said as I took the jug from her hands. It was heavier than it looked.

Together, we marched toward Coach, who saw us coming and immediately threw up his hands in mock horror.

"No-ladies-come on now-let's not do anything we'll regret-"

But it was too late.

In perfect sync, Kyrn and I dumped the entire icy, blue Gatorade all over him. He shouted, hopping away from the splash and shaking his head, soaked from head to toe.

The team burst out laughing. Even Coach couldn't help but laugh as he wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt.

"I'm really going to miss you two girls," he said after a moment, his voice softer.

I stepped forward and gave him a wet hug, despite the sticky Gatorade soaking my jersey. "Don't worry. I'm so coming back next season to help you coach."

"Me too. Duh!" Kyrn added, hugging him from the other side.

"Good," he said, pulling us both in closer despite the mess.

We shrieked as more of the Gatorade on his clothes transferred onto ours. But we didn't care.

That was the thing about moments like this - they didn't come around often, and when they did, you had to soak them in. Literally.

A familiar voice called my name over the chaos. I turned and saw my mom walking toward us with her purse over her shoulder and sunglasses perched on her head.

"Sam, Dad and I are leaving now for Italy, okay?"

"Same here, Kyrn," her mom said, catching up with my mom. "Now remember, we left the debit card at Sam's house along with your clothes. We'll be back in two months. Behave, you two."

"We will, Mother," Kyrn said with a practiced, sweet smile.

Once our moms left, Kyrn and I stood side by side watching the team celebrate, a quiet moment passing between us.

"You realize we have two months to ourselves, right?" I said, turning to her with a grin.

She smirked. "Oh, I realize."

Now, I know what you're thinking. Who in their right mind leaves two eighteen-year-old girls alone in a house for two whole months? Yeah, it sounds crazy-but my parents thought it was a good way to teach us responsibility before college. Like a real-life test drive of adulthood.

To be fair, it wasn't a totally reckless idea. We weren't exactly wild kids. Kyrn and I had always been the responsible ones in our friend group. Straight A's, varsity athletes, active in student council-you name it. If anyone could be trusted, it was us.

Still, the idea of being completely alone for that long was both thrilling and a little scary.

"It's going to be weird without them around," I admitted, walking with her toward the dugout to grab our stuff.

"Yeah, but kind of exciting too, right? Like, no curfews, no random check-ins. Just us," Kyrn said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"I know. And now we'll get a real feel for what it'll be like next year."

We still hadn't decided if we wanted to move out into an apartment near campus or stay home to save money. But living alone this summer was supposed to help us make that decision.

"Hey, want to stop and get milkshakes before we go home?" Kyrn asked as we stepped into the parking lot.

"Only if you're buying," I teased.

"With your mom's debit card?" she grinned, nudging me with her elbow.

We both laughed, the kind of laugh that made your stomach hurt in a good way.

As we loaded our gear into the back of my car, the sky began to shift into warm orange hues, signaling the start of summer-not just in weather, but in everything. A new chapter, a new adventure.

And it all started with one perfect pitch.