First Date at the Padel Courts

Maya's stomach did backflips as she walked toward the **padel** courts. Her first date with Leo – the guy she'd been lowkey crushing on since September – and she was already regretting agreeing to play a sport she'd literally never tried before.

"You'll be fine," her best friend Priya had texted earlier. "Just be chill. And maybe don't wear those jeans that make you walk weird."

Maya tugged self-consciously at said jeans. They were vintage mom-jeans, very aesthetic, but definitely not sport-appropriate. Whatever. Leo had suggested **padel**, and she wasn't about to say no.

Leo was already there, bouncing a ball like he owned the place. He looked annoyingly good in his athletic gear – all confidence and easy smiles. "Ready to get destroyed?" he called, grinning.

"In your dreams," Maya shot back, trying to sound more confident than she felt. Her sneakers squeaked on the court as she approached, already planning her funeral.

The first ten minutes were a disaster. Maya missed every ball, tripped over her own feet twice, and accidentally served the ball into the adjacent court where some eighth graders were playing. But Leo was patient, actually laughing with her instead of at her, and slowly she started to relax. Started to actually have fun.

And then – **lightning** cracked across the sky.

"Did you see that?" Leo pointed upward. "That was literally insane."

But Maya wasn't looking at the sky. She was looking at Leo's phone, which had buzzed on the bench. A text from someone named "CatGirl_99" with a heart emoji. Her stomach dropped.

"Everything cool?" Leo asked, following her gaze.

"Yeah," Maya lied, suddenly feeling stupid for thinking this could go well. Of course he was talking to someone else. Of course. She grabbed her bag, not caring how dramatic it looked. "Actually, I gotta go. My, uh, my **cat** is sick."

"Your what?"

"My **cat**. Mochi. She's – I don't know, eating my **goldfish** again or something. I need to go home."

Leo stared at her like she'd grown three heads. "Your cat is... eating your goldfish?"

"You know what, never mind." Maya turned to leave, face burning. Why did she always ruin everything?

"Maya, wait." Leo caught up with her, gently turning her around. "My little sister uses my phone. 'CatGirl_99'? That's her username. She's obsessed with cats." He showed her the screen – a string of emojis and weird sister messages. "I promise, there's no one else."

Maya blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Leo grinned. "So... you still want to finish getting destroyed at **padel**, or what?"

More **lightning** flashed, closer this time, and rain began to fall. But Maya was already laughing, maybe-smiling, definitely staying. "Bring it on."