Secret Agent Papaya

I spotted him across the courtyard, wearing that ridiculously bright neon yellow shirt. My best friend Jayden caught me staring and immediately grinned like he'd just discovered the cure for boredom.

"You're totally simping for Lucas again," Jayden said, dumping his backpack on the bench. "It's giving obsessive energy, Maya."

"Shut up," I muttered, but my face did that hot thing where you can practically feel the embarrassment radiating off you. "I wasn't staring. I was... observing. Strategically."

"Oh, you mean spy behavior?" Jayden raised an eyebrow. "Because that's definitely what we're calling it now. Professional stalking."

Okay, he wasn't wrong. Ever since Lucas had started playing padel with his crew at the new courts downtown, I'd been finding increasingly creative reasons to accidentally end up there. Classic move, I know—but his laugh when he nailed a perfect shot? Worth the awkwardness.

The problem was, Lucas had been acting weird lately. Distant. Like, responding to my texts with three hours gap weird. And yesterday, I'd seen him slip a folded note to Sofia—that gorgeous sophomore who smelled like coconut everything and had somehow already secured her spot in the popular girl hierarchy before second period even started.

"Whatever," I said, pulling my phone out. "I'm done. He's clearly moving on."

"Or," Jayden suggested, "he's planning something. You know how dramatic theater kids get."

"Jayden, you literally suggested we start a papaya business last week because 'exotic fruits are the next crypto.' Your judgment is not exactly peak."

Jayden gasped like I'd just insulted his entire bloodline. "That was a VALID business proposal! You just lack vision."

But then, through some insane cosmic timing, Lucas actually walked over. My stomach performed a full gymnastics routine.

"Hey, Maya," he said, scratching the back of his neck. His hair looked soft. I hated how much I noticed that. "You busy after school?"

Jayden, being the world's most unsubtle wingman, immediately found something incredibly urgent to do approximately ten feet away. Smooth.

"Not really," I managed. "Why?"

Lucas leaned in closer, lowering his voice like he was about to share classified government secrets. "I need your help with something. And you can't tell anyone. I'm sort of... organizing a surprise birthday thing for my little sister? She's obsessed with padel, but I'm trash at the planning part."

My brain short-circuited. "Wait. You weren't flirting with Sofia?"

"What? No." Lucas looked genuinely confused. "Sofia's cousin runs the padel place. I was asking about court reservations."

Oh.

OH.

"I'm in," I said, trying to look cool instead of absolutely thrilled that my two weeks of spy behavior had been based on nothing. "But you're paying for boba after."

"Deal." Lucas smiled, and yeah—I was definitely going to need Jayden to help me plan this. Even if he never did get his papaya empire off the ground.