The Fox on Court Three

Maya's first week at Crestwood High and she'd already been assigned three nicknames. The one that stuck? "Vitamin Girl" — all because her mom packed her those neon gummy multivitamins in clear sandwich bags, and someone saw them in her locker.

"They're basically candy," Maya muttered, shoving the bag deeper into her backpack. Her locker neighbor, a girl with electric blue streaks in her hair, snorted.

"Totally. I'm Skylar, by the way. You trying out for padel?"

"Padel?" Maya blinked. "You mean that tennis-ish thing?"

"It's NOT tennis-ISH." Skylar's eyes lit up. "It's LIFE. Come to the courts after school, Fox will be there."

Fox turned out to be Elena — senior, varsity padel captain, and so impossibly confident she walked through hallways like she owned them. Her copper hair was always messy-perfect, and there was something about her smile, sharp and knowing, that explained the nickname.

"New blood," Elena said when Skylar dragged Maya toward court three. "Let's see what you've got, Vitamin Girl."

Maya gripped the borrowed racquet. She'd played soccer back home, but this? This was different. The ball came at her, and she swung.

*THWACK.*

The ball sailed past her. Someone laughed.

But Elena didn't. "Again."

An hour later, Maya was sweaty, exhausted, and her hands were blistering. But something else happened: Elena nodded at her, and it felt like being accepted into some ancient order.

"Not terrible," Elena said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Same time tomorrow?"

Maya's phone buzzed. Her mom: *Don't forget your vitamins!*

She grinned, surprising herself. "Yeah. Same time."

Maybe Crestwood wouldn't be so bad after all. Even if she was still Vitamin Girl.