The Vitamin King of Court Four

Marcus stood outside the community center, his racket bag heavy against his shoulder. This was it — his chance to finally break into the core group. The padel court inside was where the popular kids hung out every Thursday, and Tyler had finally invited him to play.

"You got your vitamin mix, bro?" Tyler had asked yesterday like it was the most normal thing in the world. Marcus had nodded, not mentioning that his mom still bought his gummy vitamins at CVS.

Inside, the lights buzzed overhead. The court looked like every TikTok he'd ever seen — glass walls, green turf, people who made everything look effortless.

"Marcus!" Tyler waved from near the net. "Grab a paddle!"

But first, the cooler. Marcus watched as Tyler's crew passed around these neon shake bottles. "Pre-game fuel," Tyler said, sliding one toward him. "My brother's startup. It's basically a pyramid scheme but the stuff actually works."

Marcus took a sip. It tasted like artificial blue raspberry and desperation.

"Dude," someone said. "Your cat would have better taste than that."

The whole court went silent.

Then Tyler burst out laughing. "He's kidding! We've all seen your Insta. That cat is a legend."

Marcus relaxed. They knew about Barnaby — his chunky orange tabby who starred in his mom's Facebook posts. That was... weirdly okay?

The game started. Marcus wasn't great, but he wasn't terrible either. He missed a shot off the glass wall, but he made this one save that had Tyler actually cheering.

"Not bad for a rookie," Tyler said afterward, bumping fists. "Same time next week?"

"Yeah," Marcus said, surprised by how genuine it felt. "But next time, I'm bringing my own snacks."

"Whatever you want, man. Just don't tell your mom we're corrupting her vitamin intake."

Walking home, Marcus stopped at the corner store. He bought a gummy vitamin pack — the same kind he'd been taking since sixth grade. Some things were okay just as they were. Barnaby was waiting by the door when he got in, and Marcus scratched behind his ears, already looking forward to Thursday.