Spinach Smoothie Sabotage

Maya's mom had gone through a health phase, which explained the spinach smoothie in her hand and the absolute chaos that was about to unfold.

"Just drink it, mija! It's literally just veggies!" her mom had called out that morning, but Maya knew better. Spinach smoothies were social suicide.

She shoved the bottle into her backpack and headed to the padel courts, where the cool kids congregated every Friday. This was her chance—Jake from AP Chem had invited her to play, and Maya had spent three days watching YouTube tutorials on padel技巧.

She'd never actually played.

Her old converses scuffed against the expensive court surface. Jake waved, looking stupidly perfect in his Nike gear. "You ready?"

"Born ready," Maya said, adjusting her beanie. It was her security blanket—pull it down low enough, and nobody could see her panic.

Then she spotted it—a calico cat crouched under the bench, eyeing her backpack.

"No," Maya whispered, but the cat had already jumped up and knocked her bag sideways.

Time slowed down. The spinach smoothie sailed through the air in glorious slow motion, landing directly on Jake's pristine white padel bag.

The liquid exploded everywhere. Green slime dripped from his expensive racket. Every conversation on the court stopped.

Jake stared at the mess, then at Maya.

"Is that..." he started.

"Spinach," Maya whispered, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole. "My mom's health phase."

Then Jake laughed. Actually laughed.

"Dude," he said, wiping green slime from his racket with a grin. "This is legendary. My mom tried to get me on a kale smoothie kick last month. I feel your pain."

The cat purred around Maya's ankles, completely unbothered.

"You're not mad?" Maya asked, still waiting for the social execution.

"Mad?" Jake tossed her a spare racket. "Nah. But you're definitely playing doubles with me now. We're even."

As they walked onto the court, Maya adjusted her beanie, finally letting herself breathe. Maybe being the new girl wouldn't be so bad after all—especially not with a cat conspiracy on her side.