Auggie #2
I shrug. “Yeah, that’s fine.” I stand up and she follows me to the line.
“She’s awesome, huh?”
“Mayte?”
She nods and grins at me. “Yeah. I know you guys aren’t up for anything serious right now, but I know it was good for her. She’s such a catch.”
I don’t know how to respond to this.
“She’s, you know, so… yeah, like, you know?” I say.
“What?” Leo asks.
“How can I help you?” the piercing-ridden teenager at the snack shack asks, and I leap to the counter.
“A large popcorn, please,” I say, then turn to Leo. “I like popcorn too. Cool that we all like popcorn. I guess Mayte and I have popcorn in common. Cool to meet someone with… something in common.”
I hope I am knocked out by a foul ball.
Leo looks at me, confused, and then laughs. “You’re so weird, Auggie. I can see why Janko likes you.”
“Because I’m weird?”
She looks out at the baseball diamond and sighs, a dreamy smile spreading across her face.
“I’ve never met anyone like him, you know?
He’s just so himself. He’s this super jock and everyone loves him, but he’s nice to everyone and he’s so smart and he just can’t fit in a box.
I feel like you don’t really fit in a box either. ”
“Not really, no,” I say.
She nudges me with her shoulder. “I don’t feel like I do either.
Neither does Claire. Neither does Mayte.
Maybe that’s why we all fit together as friends.
” The piercing kid gives me our popcorn and I follow Leo as she leads the way back to the stands.
“I’m glad you came, Auggie,” she says. “Just for the record.”
“Oh, uh, thanks,” I say. “I guess I’m glad I did too.”
She looks me up and down as we reach our row. “Just don’t do all this next time.”
“I won’t,” I say. “I swear I won’t.”
“Claire,” she calls. “Didn’t you have to go to the bathroom?” I watch as something is communicated between Claire and Leo through the raising of eyebrows, and then Claire stands up.
“Yep! Be right back,” she says, jumping up and running down the stairs.
And then Leo pushes me toward Mayte. “She’s all yours,” she whispers and then grabs her keys. “I left my cash in the car. Let me go grab it so I can pay Auggie back,” she basically yells, and runs down the stairs after Claire.
Kill. Me.
Mayte turns. “Ooh, popcorn!” I hold it out to her without saying a word and she takes a handful. “Thanks.”
“Sure,” I say.
“Why are you dressed like a clown?” she asks, shoving the popcorn in her mouth, still staring at the baseball game.
“Because you all said we were going ‘all out’ and my parents said I needed to impress my new friends,” I say.
“Aw, you told Mommy and Daddy about your new friends? How sweet.”
“Why can’t you be nice to me for, like, five seconds?” I ask.
“I thanked you for the popcorn.”
“And then you called me a clown.”
“If the clown shoe fits,” she says. “Why did my friends pretend that they had to go do things?”
“Because they still think we’re into each other and they’re trying to give us alone time,” I say.
“Well, that sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
We’re silent for a moment, both of us eating popcorn, watching the game. Our team is down four to one.
“She looks really happy,” Mayte says. “Leo. With your friend.”
I smile and nod. “Yeah. When Janko saw her in the stands I think his whole face was just a smile.”
She laughs. “Yeah, I saw that. Did you see him waving at her?”
“Sometimes I think he’s a human puppy dog,” I say.
She turns toward me. “No joke, I’ve thought the same thing about him.”
“He’s been like that since I can remember,” I say. “I still don’t know why he’s friends with me.”
“Me neither,” Mayte says, then grins. “That was a joke. For the record.”
“You know, I’m not sure I believe you.”
We both laugh.
“You think we’re gonna win?” she asks, leaning toward me.
“I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you the answer dressed like this.”
“So the answer is no?” she asks. “I literally know nothing about baseball.”
“You mean figuratively,” I say.
“What?”
“Yeah, the answer is no.”
And four innings later, I am correct. Janko’s last to bat in the final inning, and even though it doesn’t matter, considering the 6–2 score, it’s still a huge bummer when he ends the game by striking out.
“Well, you can’t win ’em all,” Leo says, shrugging as we walk off the bleachers. We all stand at the fence and watch Janko walk off the field with his team. “At least his butt looks incredible.”
Once Janko’s off the field, he runs over to the other team, slapping a few of the guys in green on the shoulders. He shakes their hands and I watch as he pulls out his phone, handing it to a few of them. Then he turns and runs to us, sweeping Leo off her feet, twirling her around.
“Did you see that dude?” Janko asks after he sets Leo down.
“Martinez on the other team. He’s a fucking beast. I grabbed his number so we can work out together.
” Then he looks at my red-and-white facial decor, tilting his head, confused, but then smiling.
He touches the hardened spikes of my red-and-white hair.
“Nice school spirit, Augs! I could barely even tell it was you.”
“Good,” I mutter.
Janko puts his arm around Leo and the rest of us follow them out to the parking lot. “So, we celebrating or what? Y’all wanna grab some pizza?” he asks.
“I’m in,” Leo says, kissing him on the cheek.
“Same,” Claire says.
Mayte sighs and shakes her head. “I wish. But I’ve gotta get home.”
“Augs?” Janko asks. “Pizza, my dude?”
I shake my head. “I should probably also get home.” I reach for my keys.
Which I then remember are in my bag. Which is not on my back.
“I left my bag on the bleachers. I’ll catch you guys later.
” I bro-hug Janko and rush back to the stands.
My bag is right where I left it, but by the time I get back to the parking lot, the crew is gone.
Stopping at a red light in front of the school, I see Mayte standing on the sidewalk and lower my window. “Hey, Mayte. You good?”
She jumps at my voice but settles once she sees it’s me. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Do you, uh, need a ride or something?”
She shakes her head. “No, thanks. I’ve got one coming.”
“Okay.” I give her a wave. “Have a good night.”
She nods, and I close my window as the light turns green.
Driving away, I glance in my rearview mirror. A city bus pulls up to the sidewalk. Mayte boards it.