Court of the Living

Maya shuffled through the hallway feeling like a straight-up zombie. Finals week had officially turned her brain into mush, and the fluorescent lighting wasn't doing her any favors. Her cat Mochi was literally the only living thing she'd had an actual conversation with in days.

"Hey, you coming to watch the padel match after school?" Liam asked, appearing beside her at her locker.

Maya's stomach did that embarrassing flip thing. "Oh, uh, maybe? I've been kinda swamped with studying."

"No worries. Everyone's gonna be there though. It's, like, the whole event of the week."

He walked away, and Maya mentally facepalmed. Everyone was gonna be there. Why did she always say the wrong thing?

At lunch, her best friend Priya slid a vitamin C packet across the table. "For your immune system. And your social anxiety."

"Ha-ha," Maya deadpanned. "I'm just not built for the padel court scene. Everyone's so... confident."

"So fake it 'til you make it, bestie. That's literally the motto."

That afternoon, Maya found herself at the padel courts. The games were intense—people screaming, racquets smashing, balls flying everywhere. She spotted Liam on the sidelines and awkwardly made her way over.

"Hey! You made it," he said, his face lighting up. "Wanna play? We need a fourth."

"Oh, I've never—"

"It's chill, we'll teach you."

Twenty minutes later, Maya was sweating through her shirt, missing every ball, and laughing harder than she had in weeks. Her terrible serves became legendary. Even Liam's perfect game couldn't save them from defeat.

"We're getting destroyed," he said between laughs. "But honestly? This is the most fun I've had all week."

Maya looked around—at Priya recording her epic fails on Instagram, at the cat filter someone had put on the scoreboard screen, at Liam grinning like she'd just won instead of lost. The zombie feeling lifted.

"Same," she said. "Same."