Summer of Second Serves

The papaya sat on the counter like an exotic accusation. My abuela had brought it from the bodega, insisting it was 'muy fresco,' but to me it just looked like a weaponized alien fruit. I was supposed to be at Marcus's padel tournament—everyone would be there, including Skylar, whose laugh still echoed in my DMs from last night's 2 AM convo.

Instead, I was stuck in my kitchen, parents fighting over the cable bill in Spanish that I pretended not to understand. 'No más cable,' Mom had announced yesterday like it was a death sentence. 'Netflix es suficiente.' Like that was even the point.

The point was, I needed to get to the club. I grabbed the papaya—maybe if I brought it, I could pretend I was being 'culturally authentic' or whatever impresses Skylar. Baseball cap backward, heartbeat doing that stupid flutter thing whenever I thought about her smile in that one Instagram story.

Outside, the heat hit me like a wall. Palm trees swayed like they didn't care about my social anxiety. The club was three miles away but I'd make it. Just needed to not think about how I'd never actually played padel, how Marcus would smirk at my serve, how Skylar would definitely be watching.

'HEY!' A horn blared. Marcus's older sister pulled up in that convertible everyone talked about. 'Need a ride, loser?'

'Not a loser,' I said, sliding into the passenger seat like I belonged there. 'Just culturally appreciating this fruit.' I held up the papaya like it was normal.

She laughed. 'You're weird. Skylar's gonna love it.'

My stomach did something illegal. 'You think so?'

'I know so.' She accelerated. 'By the way, padel's basically tennis but easier. You'll be fine.'

At the courts, Skylar was already there, racket in hand, looking like summer itself. She spotted the papaya and grinned. 'Is that what I think it is?'

'Yeah,' I said, suddenly confident. 'Wanna share? After I crush Marcus.'

'You first,' she said, tossing me a racket. 'Good luck. You're gonna need it.'

She winked. My serve hit the net. Everyone laughed, including Skylar. But somehow, that was enough. The papaya could wait. This summer? This was just beginning.