Vitamin Sunshine

Maya crushed the vitamin D supplement in her palm, watching the white powder dust her lifeline like beach sand. Mom swore these tiny capsules were basically sunshine in a pill—perfect for a sophomore who spent 87% of her life under fluorescent gym lights rather than actual sunlight.

"You coming to padel?" Jordan's voice cut through her thoughts. He stood at her open locker, spinning his racket like it was a performance. The whole squad had gotten weirdly obsessed with padel tennis this semester, like it wasn't just tennis's Instagram-obsessed little cousin.

"Yeah, sure," Maya said, dry-swallowing the vitamin without water—champion behavior. Her throat burned, but whatever.

The court smelled like expensive sunscreen and teen desperation. Jordan's new friend Tristan had already claimed his spot as the squad's shiny new accessory, moving through social circles like he'd studied the manual. Meanwhile, Maya was still recovering from last week's incident where she'd tripped over her own racket during gym and somehow managed to look even less athletic than humanly possible.

"Your form's getting better, actually," Jordan said afterward, when they were sitting on the bench sharing electrolyte drinks that cost more than her math textbook. Tristan was busy taking selfies with the sunset.

Maya looked at Jordan—really looked at him. The way his curls stuck to his forehead, the tiny freckle on his nose she'd never noticed until right this second, how his knee kept bumping hers.

"Thanks," she said, feeling weirdly vulnerable. "You're not terrible yourself."

He laughed, and their pinky fingers brushed when he reached for his water bottle. The touch sent electricity through her arm like a literal vitamin boost to her nervous system. She watched his palm press against the metal bench, fingers drumming some rhythm she couldn't name.

Maybe fake vitamins weren't the only kind of sunshine you needed.

"Yo, you guys want to get boba after?" Tristan called from across the court, phone already in hand.

Jordan looked at Maya, eyebrows raised. She found herself grinning like an absolute idiot.

"Definitely," she said. And for the first time all year, the fluorescent lights didn't feel quite so fake.