The Cable Guy's Secret

Leo adjusted his headset, feeling like the world's most pathetic **spy**. His actual job title? "Cable technician assistant." But in his head, he was undercover, gathering intel on the popular kids whose WiFi he fixed during free period.

"Dude, you're literally just unplugging routers," said Maya, his only real **friend** at Northwood High. She sat beside him on the curb, eating vending machine chips. "You're not Sydney Bristow. You're not even Netflix spy level. You're IT guy."

"I am gathering intelligence," Leo insisted, clutching the coaxial **cable** he'd "borrowed" from the supply closet. "Knowledge is power."

Knowledge turned out to be that senior Tyler Chen secretly watched Dance Moms at 2 AM. Not exactly earth-shattering intel.

But then everything changed when Leo discovered the exclusive **padel** club downtown — members only, $500 initiation fee, and apparently where everyone cool spent their weekends. Padel, he learned, was like tennis but easier, trendier, and requiring way cuter outfits.

"They're all going," Maya had said, scrolling through Instagram. "Even Sarah. The same Sarah who said she 'doesn't do sports.' Now she's posting pics in coordinated pink outfits with matching rackets."

That's when Leo's spy skills actually came in handy. Through some creative router "maintenance," he discovered the club's website showed member photos. And there, in the Wednesday evening intermediate league, was Tyler Chen's mom. The same Tyler Chen who claimed he had to work Wednesdays.

The revelation hit differently than he'd expected. Tyler wasn't working; he was hiding his newbie padel skills from the cool kids. He was scared of being judged.

"So," Maya said when Leo told her, "we could expose him. Or we could start our own league. Terrible players welcome."

Leo looked at his dusty tennis racket in the garage. He'd given up on sports years ago. But maybe some things were worth trying badly in public.

"I'm in," he said. "But first, I need to return this cable before I get fired."