The Vitamin King of Court Four

Jordan's mom had started him on these gross orange-flavored vitamins

"for your immune system, mijo"

and now he was literally glowing orange under the gym lights. Perfect. Exactly the vibe he wanted going into padel tryouts.

The social pyramid at Westbridge High had a very specific order, and Jordan was currently chilling at the base

somewhere near the earthworms. But today, today was the day he would ascend. Padel was having a Moment

the new trendy sport that all the cool kids were playing, and Jordan had been practicing his serve against the garage door for three weeks straight.

You got this, he told himself, adjusting his grip on the racket. Just don't think about how Maya's watching from the bleachers. Or how your knees are literally shaking.

The coach blew her whistle. "Pair up!"

Jordan ended up with Lily

the girl who sat behind him in bio and always had the best snacks. She was short, wore oversized hoodies, and moved like she was constantly apologizing for taking up space. They were basically the same person.

"So," Lily said, cracking her knuckles. "You play before?"

"Once," Jordan lied. "I'm basically a pro."

Lily's eyes sparkled. "Same. Let's crush this."

They did NOT crush it. They absolutely got destroyed by Tyler

who was literally at the top of the pyramid, the same guy who had somehow convinced half the sophomore class to buy those sketchy energy vitamins from his

side hustle. Lily and Jordan lost 6-0, 6-1, and the one point they scored was pure luck when the ball hit the net and dribbled over.

But here's the thing

as they sat on the bench, sharing Lily's emergency stash of fruit snacks, Jordan realized his shoulders weren't tense anymore. He wasn't thinking about Maya or the stupid social ladder or whether his orange-tinted skin made him look like an Oompa Loompa.

"Hey," Lily said, wiping orange dust off her chin. "You free Friday? My cousin has a court we could use. For practice."

Jordan grinned. Maybe the pyramid wasn't something you had to climb alone. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm free."

His mom's vitamins might not make him cool. But this? This friendship thing? That was the real supplement he needed.