The Padel Court Incident

The humidity had already turned my perfectly straightened hair into a frizz cloud by second period. Great first impression material, really. I stood at the edge of the padel court, gripping my racquet like it might save me from social extinction. Maya had convinced me to join the club, saying it'd be "so chill," but now here I was, about to embarrass myself in front of half the varsity team.

"You good, Ellis?" Maya asked, bouncing on her toes like she didn't have a care in the world. Her ponytail remained somehow perfect. Some people just have that luck.

"Totally," I lied. "Just... mentally preparing."

Across the court, Jake and his friends were laughing about something. I tried not to stare—I didn't want to look like some kind of weirdo who'd rather spy on the popular kids than actually play the sport. But I'd caught Jake watching me earlier in the cafeteria, and my brain had been spiraling about what that meant ever since.

Then Jake walked over.

"Hey," he said, all casual confidence. "You're Ellis, right? From English?"

My brain short-circuited. He knew my name?

"Yeah," I managed, while internally screaming.

"Your serve," someone called out.

We played, and somehow I didn't completely tank. Jake kept encouraging me, which was doing things to my stomach that I refused to examine. Afterward, everyone decided to hit the pool at Tyler's house. I'd packed a swimsuit but suddenly felt weird about it—the hair situation, the whole being-in-a-swimsuit-around-boys situation, the general anxiety of being a teenage human.

"You coming?" Jake asked, dripping pool water and looking unfairly good.

"In a minute!" I called back.

Maya found me sitting on the edge, feet in the water. "You know, he was totally checking out your backhand today."

"Oh my god, stop," I said, but I was smiling. "That's such bull."

"Deny it all you want." She bumped my shoulder. "But you're not exactly being subtle either, spy girl."

I laughed, pushing her into the pool. She surfaced, grinning, and pulled me in after her. The water was perfect, and for once, I didn't overthink every little thing. Sometimes you just have to jump in anyway.