Second Best's First Serve
Chloe's phone buzzed on her nightstand at 7:43 AM. A text from Maya: "padel @ 10? Sasha bailed, need a fourth."
Chloe stared at the screen. For three years, she'd been the backup friend—the one Maya called when her actual best friend was busy. The designated +1. The human placeholder.
"Sure," Chloe typed back. Then deleted it.
She'd been running from this truth since middle school: she was never anyone's first choice. Always the benchwarmer in the game of friendship.
Outside her window, the neighborhood loop stretched out—three miles she'd been running every morning since she discovered that Maya and Sasha had a whole group chat without her. Running was easier than confronting the ache in her chest. It was simple. Left foot, right foot, breathe. Nobody could reject you when you were already moving away from them.
But this morning, Chloe's feet stayed planted on her bedroom floor.
She grabbed her racquet from the back of her closet, dust still clinging to the case. When was the last time she'd played? Before Maya and Sasha became the dynamic duo of tenth grade?
At the courts, Maya waved her over. "Glad you could make it, Chlo. You're a lifesaver."
"Yeah," a guy named Leo said, already stretching against the fence. "We were about to have to play with a random from the waitlist."
Something in Chloe's chest tightened, then snapped.
"Actually," she said, her voice steadier than she felt, "I forgot I have plans."
Maya blinked. "What? But you just said—"
"I know what I said." Chloe stepped back, swinging her racquet case lightly. "I'm done being your backup, Maya. Find someone else to fill in when Sasha's busy."
She turned and walked away, legs carrying her toward the running path instead. Her phone buzzed five times in her pocket. She didn't look.
That afternoon, Chloe joined a different padel league—the one nobody from her school played in. The one where nobody knew her as Maya's shadow.
Her first serve hit the wall and bounced back, perfect and unexpected.
Second best? Not anymore.