The Smash That Changed Everything

Mia's **cat**, Barnaby, gave her that look. The judgment look. Like he knew she was about to embarrass herself. Again.

"You're overthinking it," said Chloe, tossing her the padel racket. "Just hit the ball, Mia. It's not that deep."

But it *was* that deep. Jake, the cute junior who'd finally noticed her, was waiting at the courts. And Mia? Mia had the athletic coordination of a baby giraffe on ice. Everyone else at school played **padel** like they'd been born with a racket in their hands. Meanwhile, Mia spent more time apologizing for missing the ball than actually hitting it.

Derek—Chloe's older sister's boyfriend and total **bull** in every sense of the word—practically lived at the courts. He'd already made three comments about "giving the new girl a chance" today.

When Jake had invited her to play, she'd barely managed to choke out "yes" before her brain caught up with her mouth. Now here she was, exposed and about to humiliate herself in front of the one person who actually mattered.

"You've got this," Chloe said, but her best friend's smile looked completely fake.

Jake served. The ball came at her. Mia's sneakers gripped the court as she started **running**, everything in her peripheral vision blurring. Her racket met the ball with a shockingly clean hit—it sailed past Derek and landed perfectly inside the line.

"Whoa," Jake said, actually grinning. "Where'd that come from?"

Derek scowled. "Lucky shot."

"Again," Jake said, and this time Mia didn't think. She just moved.

Three games later, Jake was high-fiving her and Derek had gone mysteriously "thirsty."

"Same time tomorrow?" Jake asked.

Mia glanced at her phone—Barnaby was probably still judging her from his spot by the window. But for the first time, she didn't care.

"Yeah," she said. "Same time tomorrow."

Maybe being the new girl wasn't so terrible after all.