Smash and Heartbreak

The first time I held a padel racket, I felt like a fraud. Everyone at the club moved with this effortless confidence, laughing and joking, while I stood there gripping the handle like my life depended on it.

"You good, newbie?" Jake asked, grinning. He'd started calling me 'cat' last week because I'd apparently "landed on my feet" when I transferred here mid-semester. The nickname stuck, mostly because he wouldn't stop using it.

"I'm good," I lied, adjusting my glasses. "Just... getting the feel."

Truth was, I'd only agreed to this stupid padel session because Maya was playing. She stood across the court, stretching in that way that made my brain malfunction, her ponytail swinging like she didn't have a care in the world.

Then Chloe appeared. The fox. That's what everyone called her behind her back—not because she was sneaky, but because she was gorgeous in a way that felt dangerous. She draped herself all over Jake, shooting me this look that said I know exactly why you're really here.

My first serve went into the net. Of course.

Maya giggled, and I wanted to disappear. But then she mouthed, "You got this."

Something shifted. I stopped overthinking. The next shot sailed perfectly, and suddenly we were actually playing. Me, the transfer kid who'd spent months feeling invisible, now diving for returns, laughing when I missed, feeling real for the first time in forever.

Afterward, Maya sat beside me on the bench. "You're actually kinda good, cat."

"Jake started that," I said, face burning.

"I know." She bumped my shoulder. "I like it."

Chloe and Jake left together, but I didn't even care. Sometimes the things you think you want aren't what you actually need. And sometimes learning padel is just padel—until it's not.

"Same time next week?" Maya asked.

"Absolutely."

Walking home, I spotted the stray cat from my building watching me from a fence. I'd never related to an animal more in my life. Just taking it one swing at a time, figuring out who I was along the way.