Summer of Secrets

I was a spy. Or at least, that's what I told myself as I crouched behind the padel court fence, iphone clutched in my sweaty hand like it was a top-secret gadget. Mission: observe Maya Castillo without her noticing. Subject: Maya. Reason: I'd been crushing on her since seventh grade, and my brain short-circuited every time she tried to talk to me.

The padel courts at the community center were perfect territory. I'd pretend to practice my serve while actually stealing glances at her through the chain links. She played with effortless grace—hair in a messy bun, laughter carrying across the court like music. Meanwhile, I was basically malfunctioning.

"You gonna actually hit the ball, or just stare at it?" Jake called out. My best friend leaned against the fence, grinning. "You've been missing everything today."

"Shut up," I muttered, but he wasn't wrong. My game was absolute trash.

"You know," Jake said, lowering his voice, "there's gonna be a bunch of people swimming at Miller's Pond tonight. Maya too. Just saying."

Swimming. Right. Because watching Maya from across a pond while simultaneously humiliating myself sounded like a fantastic idea.

But I went anyway. Because apparently self-preservation wasn't my strong suit.

The pond was packed—probably thirty people hanging out, swimming, music blasting from someone's portable speaker. I positioned myself strategically near a tree, iphone ready for stealth photography. Not creepy at all, I reasoned. This was basically reconnaissance.

That's when the bull showed up.

Yes, an actual bull. A massive, escaped-from-some-farm bull came charging out of the woods near the pond. Someone screamed. Then everyone was screaming, scrambling out of the water, grabbing phones and towels. Chaos. Absolute chaos.

I stood frozen, heart hammering. The bull snorted, pawing at the ground, head lowered like it was preparing to charge again. And there was Maya, stumbling as she tried to grab her flip-flops, looking terrified.

Without thinking, I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight—brightest setting. Waving it frantically, I yelled, "HEY! OVER HERE, YOU DUMB COW!"

The bull's head snapped toward me. Maybe it was confused by the light. Maybe it was just done with today. Either way, it huffed and turned back toward the woods, disappearing into the trees.

Silence fell. Someone started clapping. Then everyone was clapping.

Maya made her way over to me, clutching her towel, eyes wide. "Did you just distract a bull with your iphone flashlight?"

"I mean," I managed, "it was pretty dumb, right?"

"It was the bravest thing I've ever seen," she said, and then she was laughing, and I was laughing, and my face was burning but not from embarrassment this time.

"So," she said, nudging my arm, "you gonna teach me how to play padel sometime? Since you're always watching me practice?"

She knew. She'd known the whole time.

"Yeah," I said, grinning. "I'd like that."

Being a spy wasn't so bad after all. But being honest with her? That was even better.