Sweating It Out

Maya's paddle felt like a dead weight in her hand. The new girl, Brianna, had already smashed three serves past her, and honestly? Brianna made it look effortless while Maya was out here fighting for her life.

"You good, bestie?" Chloe called from the sidelines, already in full social butterfly mode with the varsity girls. "You're low-key zoning out."

Maya waved her off, grabbing her water bottle and chugging like she'd been stranded in the Sahara. The lukewarm liquid hit her throat and she immediately regretted not grabbing ice from the cafeteria. First week of sophomore year and she was already down bad trying out for the padel team. Her older brother had warned her—padel was life at Northwood High, and if you weren't on the courts, you were basically invisible.

Her mom had started her on those gummy vitamin things that morning, pressing the bottle into her palm with that intense mom-energy: "For energy, mija. You'll need it."

Yeah, well, the vitamins were definitely not kicking in yet.

"Last point!" Brianna spun her paddle, hitting the ball against her racket repeatedly. thwack-thwack-thwack. The rhythm was annoyingly perfect. "Winner gets the last spot on varsity. Unless you're scared?"

Maya's brain served up approximately 47 reasons to walk away right now. But her feet stayed planted. Something about the way Brianna's friends were watching, phones out, definitely recording this moment for their finsta stories. The social stakes were somehow higher than the actual game.

The ball came at her and Maya didn't think. She just swung.

Her paddle connected with a sound that felt right. The ball sailed over Brianna's head, landing exactly in the corner, bouncing twice before anyone could react. Silence hit the court like a physical thing.

"No shot," someone whispered.

Brianna's eyebrows went up. For the first time all morning, the smirk dropped. "Okay then."

Chloe rushed over with her water bottle, fresh from the fountain. "You literally just did that! I got it on my story—you're gonna go viral."

Maya's hands were shaking but she couldn't stop smiling. Her brother's advice from last night echoed in her head: *Fake it 'til you make it, but like, believe it.* She grabbed her bag, fishing out the vitamin gummies. Mom was right about one thing—she was definitely gonna need her energy for this season.

"Same time tomorrow?" Brianna asked, actually smiling now. "You're not terrible."

"See you then," Maya called back, already forgetting she was supposed to be nervous. The water from the fountain had never tasted better.