The Summer of Switching Sports

Max's dad dropped him off at the rec center with his baseball gear, even though Max had secretly signed up for padel lessons instead. His cap was pulled low, hiding the terror in his eyes.

"You'll crush it, champ!" his dad yelled through the window. "Remember what I told you about eye contact!"

Max nodded, clutching his bat. He'd played baseball since he was six. Everyone expected him to make varsity freshman year. The problem? He hated it. The standing around, the pressure, the way his dad's face lit up only when Max got a hit.

Inside, he spotted the padel courts through the glass walls. People were laughing, moving constantly, smashing this weird squishy ball around. It looked chaotic and fun. Nothing like baseball's rigid silence.

"Hey! You're Max, right?"

A girl with a swimmer's shoulder and chlorine-faded hair bounced over. "I'm Riley. Your doubles partner."

She was wearing a backwards baseball hat and dripped confidence. Max felt his face heat up.

"You swim?" he blurted, then cringed. Great question, genius.

"Yeah, 5 AM practices, dryland, the whole miserable deal." Riley laughed. "Needed something that didn't involve waking up before God. You play baseball?"

Max hesitated. This was it—the moment to explain everything, to say he was ditching baseball for padel, to admit he'd been lying to his parents all summer.

"Used to," he said instead. "Switching things up."

Riley's grin widened. "Cool. Let's see what you got."

They played for two hours. Max missed shots, served into the net, and laughed so hard his stomach hurt. Riley was patient, trash-talking the whole time. For the first time since forever, Max wasn't thinking about his dad's expectations or the varsity team or college scholarships.

When his dad picked him up, Max's baseball gear was still in his bag, untouched.

"How was practice?" his dad asked, eyes on the road.

Max stared at his reflection in the window, at his hat still pulled low. "Actually," he said, voice steadier than he felt, "I need to tell you something."

His dad glanced over, waiting.

"I'm not playing baseball anymore. I found something else."

The silence stretched. Max held his breath.

"Okay," his dad said finally. "Tell me about it."

Max exhaled, a grin spreading across his face. "Well, first off, it's nothing like baseball."