Surely enough, Bryan was driving the barely functional old car. Short but stout, the man was the human equivalent to an outhouse. He was pretentious, petty, cheap and, in general, a total jerk. What would hurt the most was that he was utterly superior to me in nearly every aspect. He was better than me at sports. He had better grades than me. Hell, he was doing great in college too.

He used to be my friend but we ended up in quite hostile terms after he started dating the girl I liked. He knew I had a crush on her and even knew about the two or three dates we had. He was the only one I told when I kissed her on our first date. One day, she stopped replying to my texts and when I confronted her, she told me she was dating Bryan. I was demolished. “Sorry, bro. You were too slow.” His words were ten years of friendship turned into pure betrayal. We never fought. He was clearly stronger than me and I was not stupid enough to get my ass handed to me.

And then, there she was. Majo. Shortened from Maria Jose, she had a unique name befitting a one-of-a-kind woman. Her clear brown skin showed almost no imperfections. Her body was that of a professional athlete. She was wearing a pair of shorts that exposed the well-toned and brawny legs she had developed over years of softball. I was crazy for her jet black short hair which today flowed in the breeze like black silk threads that knew no gravity at all. Yet, there was more to her than what met the eye. One of the brightest students in the whole school. She had gotten a baseball scholarship to go to a fancy college and despite all that she was very humble, caring and down to earth. So much so, that she put college on hold to start working and care for her dying grandmother along with her mom. When our eyes met, I shot her a smile and she immediately looked down, clearly avoiding me.

“Ready to die, bitch?” Said good old Bryan showing good sportsmanship before the match had even begun.

“How can such a cute girl date that sack of flaws?” My thoughts exactly. “I know, right.” I replied in complete agreement. Then, it hit me.

“Who said that?” I yelled, literally turning in all directions hoping to see someone hiding somewhere. No one was close to me. “Calm down. There’s no need to scream. I’m right here. Inside of you.” The voice seemed to come from within my head indeed. “Who are you?” I whispered looking down and clearly frustrated. “Your friend. I can help you win this game. All you have to do is call my name.” The voice clearly knew what I wanted to hear. “What is your name?” I asked, silently surrendering my other questions and doubts about this mysterious voice. “It’s the one Ana called before telling you all those cool things yesterday.” My mind went completely blank. Uriel. That word brought back the memories of the previous afternoon and they were so vivid they I felt as if I was living it all again. I started to sweat profusely and I felt like I was about to vomit. I was totally paralyzed. “That was all me.” I barely heard Uriel’s words. Surely, I was still shocked by what had happened the day before. I looked up and reminded myself there was a game to play so I started walking towards my team’s benches. “Alright, bitches! Let’s get this party started!” Bryan had a knack for doing the one thing I would hate the most. I turned around and walked to the mound. Luckily, I had warmed up way before everyone had arrived so I was in top form–or so I thought.