The Padel Incident

Maya stood at the edge of the community pool, clutching her dad's oversized baseball **hat** like it was a shield. The back-to-school party was in full swing—literally. Someone had brought a **padel** racket, and somehow a makeshift game had broken out on the grass nearby.

"You coming?" called Liam, the cute junior who'd smiled at her in the hallway twice this week. He was shirtless, holding a **padel** racket like he actually knew what he was doing with it.

Maya's palms were already sweating. She'd never played **padel** in her life—whatever that even was. It looked like tennis meets squash, but she'd spent her summer **running** track because her mom said it would "build character." (It had mostly built blisters and an irrational fear of timed laps.)

"I'm good!" Maya called back, her voice cracking slightly. "Just enjoying the atmosphere."

"Come on," Liam grinned. "I'll go easy on you."

Her friend Jada rolled her eyes from where she sat on a lounge chair, eating something that looked suspiciously like **papaya** slices. "Maya, if you don't play, I'm telling everyone about your One Direction phase."

"That was SIX YEARS AGO," Maya hissed.

"Was it though?" Jada popped a piece of **papaya** into her mouth, looking way too pleased with herself.

Maya's heart was **running** a marathon. She could play it safe—keep hiding behind her **hat**, keep being the quiet girl who watched from the sidelines. Or she could risk looking like an idiot in front of Liam and everyone else.

"Fine." Maya stepped onto the grass, adjusting her **hat** like it could somehow make her invisible. "But if I lose, you owe me food."

"Deal." Liam tossed her the extra racket. "First to eleven wins."

An hour later, Maya's ponytail was falling apart, she'd tripped over her own feet three times, and she was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. She'd lost spectacularly, but somehow that didn't matter anymore. Liam was sitting next to her on the pool deck, their legs dangling in the water, while Jada kept making terrible jokes about **papaya** being a "gateway fruit."

"Same time next week?" Liam asked, bumping her shoulder with his.

Maya smiled, finally pushing her **hat** back. "You're on. But I'm totally gonna win this time."