Stakeout at the Padel Courts

Maya crouched behind the equipment shed, her knees literally shaking. This was it. Operation Get The Dirt. Her best friend Chloe had begged her to find out whether Tyler actually liked her, and the padel courts after school was ground zero.

"You're literally my hero if this works," Chloe had said that morning, handing Maya a notepad. "Write down everything. Who he talks to, what he wears, if he mentions me."

Maya felt like a total loser spy. She wasn't James Bond — she was a sophomore with uneven bangs and anxiety about Spanish class. But Chloe's hopeful face had made her say yes.

Through the shed's wooden slats, she watched Tyler and his friends laughing while playing padel. The thwack of balls, the chatter, the easy confidence of people who never had to hide behind equipment sheds. Maya ran her fingers over the notepad's blank pages. What was she supposed to write anyway? Tyler's shoes were cool. His laugh was annoying. He kept looking at his phone.

Wait.

Tyler wasn't checking his phone. He was typing something, then glancing toward the courts where a group of girls sat, then typing again. Maya's stomach did a flip. He wasn't into Chloe. He was into someone on those courts.

But who?

She leaned closer, squinting, and that's when her backpack hit a loose board. *Creak.*

The conversation stopped. Every head turned toward the shed.

Maya's face burned. She could either die of embarrassment right there or make a run for it. Legs, don't fail me now.

She bolted, running past the padel courts, past the baseball field, all the way to the bike racks behind the gym. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Worst idea ever. Chloe would never forgive her.

"Maya!"

She froze. It was Tyler, jogging toward her, actually winded. Behind him, Chloe stood with the popular girls, her face confused.

"Were you... spying?" Tyler asked, grinning like it was the funniest thing ever.

"No," Maya said, then paused. "Maybe. I mean — my friend wanted to know —"

"If I like her?" He gestured toward Chloe. "I've been trying to ask her out for weeks. I was texting my friend for advice on what to say."

Maya blinked. "Wait, really?"

"Really." He held out his fist for a fist bump. "Thanks for the recon, I guess. You're not bad at this spy stuff."

Walking home later with Chloe, who was now floating somewhere in the stratosphere, Maya realized something: she might not be the cool girl with the perfect hair or the athletic prowess. But she was the friend who would crouch behind an equipment shed for hours, the one who would literally run a mile to avoid an awkward moment, the one who would go to extremes for the people she loved.

"So," Chloe said, swinging her racket bag. "You want to learn how to play padel? Tyler says we can use the courts tomorrow."

Maya smiled. "Absolutely. But I'm bringing the notepad. You know, just in case."