Electric Court

Maya stood at the edge of the padel court, her heart doing that annoying fluttery thing it always did when she was the new kid. Again. Third school in two years. She gripped the rented racquet so hard her knuckles turned white.

"You gonna stand there all day or actually play?"

Maya jumped. A girl about her age with messy curls and knee-high socks stood on the other side of the net, grinning like she knew exactly how nervous Maya was. "I'm Chen. And you're about to get destroyed."

"Maya," she managed, though it came out more like a squeak. "And I've actually played before. Sort of."

"Sort of doesn't count on my court." Chen winked. "Let's see what you got."

The first few rallies were disastrous—Maya's serves hit the net, her returns went everywhere except where she aimed. But Chen kept laughing, not at her but with her, and somehow Maya started laughing too. The awkwardness that usually lived in her chest like a stone began to dissolve.

Then it happened—a crack of thunder that shook the ground. Lightning flashed across the sky like someone had ripped the clouds open.

"Game over," Chen said, but she was already grabbing Maya's hand. "Come on, my house is two minutes away."

They ran through the sudden downpour, sliding in wet sneakers, both of them soaked to the bone within seconds. Chen's hand was warm and sure, and Maya found herself thinking she'd follow this girl anywhere, even if it meant running into a literal storm.

They collapsed on Chen's covered porch, dripping wet, chests heaving. Chen's curls were plastered to her forehead, mascara running down her cheeks in what looked like raccoon eyes.

"I look like a drowned rat," Chen laughed, wiping her face with her shirt. "You too, by the way."

Maya glanced down at herself—hair plastered to her skull, clothes stuck to her body like second skin—and started giggling. Then both of them were laughing so hard they couldn't breathe, the kind of laughter that feels like letting go of everything you've been holding in for way too long.

"Tomorrow," Chen said when they finally calmed down, still catching her breath. "Same time. I'll teach you how to actually hit the ball."

"Tomorrow," Maya agreed, and for the first time in forever, she actually couldn't wait.