Sweaty Palms and Second Serves

Maya's palms were sweating so much she could barely grip the padel racquet. This was it—her first time on the court, and her best friend since kindergarten, Chloe, was already vibing with the popular kids like she'd been part of their squad forever.

"Goldfish brain," Chloe had teased her earlier that week. "That's why you never remember you're actually good at stuff." Whatever. The goldfish they'd won at the fair last summer had more game than Maya felt right now. Even that cat from next door—Mr. Whiskers, who watched through the fence like a judgmental emoji—had more confidence.

"Ready to get wrecked?" called Jake, the sophomore with the annoyingly perfect smile.

Maya's stomach did a full rotation. The cat from next door leaped onto the fence, staring at her with those judging eyes.

Chloe was already moving across the court like she owned the place, her ponytail swinging with each step. Meanwhile, Maya stood frozen, her sneakers squeaking awkwardly against the blue surface.

First serve came flying at her. Maya swung, missed completely, and the ball hit the fence with a pathetic thud.

"Bro," someone laughed. "That was tragic."

But then Jake actually smiled. "Nice try, though. Your grip's all wrong—relax your palms a little."

Chloe nodded. "Yeah! You're overthinking it. Like, WAY overthinking."

Something shifted. Maya adjusted her grip, the sweat actually helping this time. Next serve came. She connected.

THWACK.

The ball sailed perfectly over the net, landing just inside the line.

"YESSS!" Chloe screamed, jumping up and down. "That's what I'm talking about!"

They ended up losing the match, but Maya didn't care. Walking home later, Chloe threw an arm around her shoulders. "See? You just needed to get out of your head. You're literally amazing when you stop worrying about being amazing."

Their goldfish was still alive when they got home, swimming in its bowl like it had been waiting for this moment all along. Maya fed it, feeling weirdly proud of herself.

"Padel again tomorrow?" Chloe asked, already knowing the answer.

"Duh," Maya said, checking her phone. Three new notifications. Jake had tagged her in a story.

Maybe high school wasn't so scary after all. Maybe the only thing holding her back was her own goldfish memory for all the times she'd actually crushed it.

And Mr. Whiskers? Even the cat seemed impressed.