Orange Cat Summer

The padel court behind the community center became my sanctuary that summer, especially after Maya and I stopped speaking. We'd been best friend since sixth grade, but something shifted between us—she got invited to Tyler's party and I didn't, and suddenly three years of inside jokes and shared secrets felt like they'd evaporated.

I'd found the padel court by accident while cutting through the park to avoid passing her house. The fence had a gap near the ground, just big enough for someone my size to squeeze through. The court itself was abandoned, weeds sprouting through cracks in the concrete, the net sagging in the middle.

That's where I first saw him—an orange cat with one ear that folded like a crushed soda can, watching me from atop the back wall.

"Hey, Orange," I called out that first day, tossing him half my turkey sandwich. He'd accepted it with this look like, Finally, someone recognizes my greatness.

We fell into a routine. Every afternoon, I'd show up with whatever snacks I could swipe from the kitchen. Orange would appear like magic, and we'd hang out while I practiced my padel serve against the wall—terribly, but no one was watching.

Until the day Maya found me.

I was mid-swing, racket raised, when I heard the chain-link rattle. She stood there in that cropped hoodie she'd started wearing, looking smaller than I remembered.

"Your mom said you might be here," she said quietly, not meeting my eyes. "Tyler's party was weird without you."

Orange hopped down from the wall and wound between her legs, purring like a motor. Maya laughed, surprised, and scratched behind his folded ear.

"His name's Orange," I said, setting down my racket. "He's kind of my friend now."

Maya looked at me then, really looked at me. "I missed you, dumbass."

"I missed you too," I admitted. "Even if you're a traitor who went to parties without me."

She grinned. "Next time, you're coming. Deal?"

"Deal."

Orange head-butted both of our ankles like he'd planned this whole thing. That summer, I learned that friendship isn't about never fighting—it's about the people who show up at the padel court with orange cat hair on their socks, even when things are weird.