Thunder on the Court

Maya pulled the snapback lower, exactly like the popular girls did—eyes just visible above the brim, mystery radiating. Or so she hoped. In reality, she was just hiding her frizz from the humidity.

"You coming, or what?" Chloe called from the padel court. Because apparently, being sixteen in this suburb meant padel was life. Maya had pretended to be into it for two weeks just because Chloe's cousin knew Tyler's older brother, and yes, the math was that desperate.

The court smelled like expensive sunscreen and competitiveness. Maya's padel technique was basically "wave the racket enthusiastically and pray," which had worked surprisingly well until today.

Then she saw him. Tyler. Actually on the sidelines. Wearing that army-green jacket that made him look like he belonged in a music video.

"Show me what you got, Hat Girl," he said.

Hat Girl. That was her identity now. Fine.

Maya's friend Zoey caught her eye from across the court with that look—**are you serious right now**—because Zoey knew Maya had never successfully hit a padel ball in her life without looking like a confused flamingo.

The sky darkened. Storm clouds rolled in like nobody's business.

"One more point!" Chloe insisted, because competitive sports were apparently more important than not getting struck by lightning.

Maya swung at the ball with everything she had. The racket connected with a **BANG** that reverberated through her arms, and the ball sailed—not over the net, but directly into Tyler's water bottle, which exploded like a slow-motion tragedy.

And then—the sky tore open.

**LIGHTNING** cracked so close everyone screamed. The air tasted like ozone and pure electricity. Rain dumped down in sheets, turning the padel court into a disaster movie.

Tyler laughed. Actually laughed. "Hat Girl, you have a killer arm."

Zoey yanked Maya toward the covered bench, her friend's grip saying **we are NEVER coming here again**. But Maya was grinning so hard her face hurt.

"Next time," Tyler called through the rain, "teach me that move."

Maya's hat had fallen off. Her frizz was completely exposed. But for the first time all semester, she didn't pull it back down.