Orange Slice Courage

Jordan stood by the padel court, heart hammering like crazy. The orange brim of their dad's old baseball hat pulled low over their eyes, basically a shield against everyone's judgments. First day at the new club, and already regretting everything.

"You gonna stand there all day or actually play?" Maya called from across the court. She had this effortless vibe, hair in a messy bun, racquet resting on her shoulder like it belonged there.

Jordan's throat went dry. "Yeah. Just... warming up."

Truth was, Jordan had never played padel in their life. Back at their old school, nobody played sports. You were either in AP classes or you were basically invisible. Jordan had been both.

The game started chaos. Jordan missed the ball by like three feet. Someone snickered. Face burning, they reached for their water bottle, hands shaking so bad they almost dropped it.

"Breathe, new kid," Maya said, suddenly beside them. She peeled an orange from her bag, the citrus scent cutting through the sweat and stress. "Nobody's watching you as much as you think they are."

She handed Jordan a slice. "Also, your hat's on backwards."

Jordan laughed despite themselves, flipping the hat around. "Is that better or worse?"

"Better. Now you look intentionally weird instead of accidentally weird."

The next point, Jordan actually connected with the ball. It sailed over the net, landed right in the corner. Maya pumped a fist like Jordan had just won the Olympics.

"YES! That's what I'm talking about!"

By the time they finished, Jordan was dripping with sweat, exhausted, and somehow... happy? Like, actually happy. The anxiety that'd been sitting heavy in their chest all week had lifted, replaced by this glowy feeling.

Maya tossed them the remaining orange slices. "Same time next week?"

Jordan adjusted their hat—forward this time. "Definitely."

Walking home, Jordan realized something: new places weren't actually that scary. Or maybe they were, but that was kind of the point. The fear meant you were growing, changing, becoming someone new. Someone who played padel badly but enthusiastically. Someone who made friends without overthinking it.

The orange sunset reflected off puddles as Jordan headed home, already practicing their serve in the empty air.