The Padel Court betrayal

Mateo's thumbs hovered over his iPhone screen, heart racing like he'd just sprinted a mile. The group chat was blowing up.

'U coming 2 the courts?' 'Dude reserves fill FAST' 'YOURE ACTUALLY FLAKING??'

He typed 'Yeah omw' then backspaced. Typed it again. His stomach did that awful twisty thing it always did when the Country Club Kids invited him places. Which was exactly never, until this summer when his abuela got hired as head chef.

Now he was The Kitchen Kid who'd somehow scored an invite to Lucas's birthday padel tournament. Padel — because apparently tennis wasn't exclusive enough for these people.

'Mateo!' Abuela called from her room. 'Your uniform's on the bed. Don't forget what I told you.'

'Yeah yeah, I got it.' He grabbed the pressed polo. White. Expensive-looking.loaner gear from Lucas's family, obviously, because Mateo's entire wardrobe came from Target clearance racks.

The iPhone buzzed again. Lucas this time: 'Coach is THE ACTUAL BULL. Be there or you're dead.'

Mateo froze. The Bull. Everyone knew Coach Hargrove — the former pro who'd benched three kids last month for 'lack of commitment.' The guy practically breathed intimidation.

But showing up meant actually playing padel. In front of everyone. On a team with kids who'd been holding racquets since they could walk.

His thumb hovered over the screen. This was it. The moment where he either became Mateo Who Filled In Once That One Time or Mateo Who Actually Hung Out With Them Sometimes.

Abuela appeared in the doorway, her face doing that soft thing it did when she knew he was overthinking everything.

'Mijo,' she said. 'You're not going there to prove anything. You're going to hit a ball around with some boys. If you miss, you miss. If they laugh, let them.' She shrugged. 'At least you'll have a story.'

Mateo stared at his iPhone. The notification kept winking at him like a dare.

He grabbed the polo. The story. Yeah. Let them have their bull of a coach and their fancy courts and their 'you're actually flaking???' energy.

Mateo was about to become the worst padel player in the tournament's history. And he was kind of excited to see the looks on their faces when he absolutely did not care.