Greens and Glory

Maya's mom had dropped the ultimate bombshell over breakfast: "We're doing a family detox. No processed food, starting with spinach smoothies every morning."

Sixteen-year-old Maya almost spit out her orange juice. Spinach? Seriously? Her friends at Northwood High lived on iced coffee and vending machine snacks. She could already imagine the chaos at lunch when her mom packed her that ridiculous green sludge.

"It's packed with every vitamin you need," her mom continued, totally missing Maya's eye roll. "Your brain will thank me during finals."

Finals were the least of Maya's worries. The real problem was Lucas — the cute junior who'd been watching her from across the cafeteria all week. The one who'd invited her to his padel tournament that Saturday. Padel, of all things. Who even played padel in high school? Apparently Lucas did, and he'd somehow convinced her she'd be a natural.

"You just need a hat," her best friend Zoe had advised. "Something cute. Maybe a baseball cap? Keep it casual."

The hat was supposed to be her armor. Her transformation from awkward sophomore to chill athlete girl. Instead, she was standing on Lucas's parents' fancy padel court, wearing a hat she'd spent forty-five minutes positioning perfectly, while her stomach did actual cartwheels.

"You ready?" Lucas called, grinning like he knew something she didn't.

Maya adjusted her hat, trying to look confident. "Totally."

She wasn't. Her mom's spinach smoothie was sitting in her sports bottle like green toxic waste. Lucas's teammates were watching. His friends were watching. And somehow, someway, she'd agreed to a sport she'd never played, in front of the cutest guy at school, while secretly carrying around a bottle of liquefied vegetables.

"Maya!" Lucas tossed her a racquet. "Show us what you've got!"

The hat slipped. Her smoothie bottle spilled. Green sludge splashed across her white sneakers.

Lucas didn't laugh. Neither did his friends.

"Vitamin bomb," Maya muttered, face burning. "My mom's idea."

"Can I try some?" Lucas asked, picking up her bottle.

Maya stared at him. "Seriously?"

"My dad's a nutritionist," he said, taking a sip and actually smiling. "Not bad. Could use some berries, though."

The tension evaporated. Someone tossed her a towel. Lucas's friends started joking about their own parents' weird health kicks. Maya wiped off her shoes, adjusted her hat, and stepped onto the court feeling like maybe, just maybe, she could handle this — spinach smoothies, padel, hat disasters, and all.

"Your serve," Lucas said. "Don't worry — I'll go easy on you."

"In your dreams," Maya called back, and for the first time all morning, she wasn't faking it.