When the Bull Met the Court

Maya stood at the edge of the padel court, her heart hammering like a trapped bird. The orange neon lights buzzed overhead, casting everything in a weird radioactive glow. This was supposed to be fun—that's what Chloe had said when she'd invited her. But now here she was, about to make a complete fool of herself in front of the popular crew.

"You got this, Maya!" Chloe called out, spinning her padel racket like she'd been born with one in her hand. Meanwhile, Maya gripped hers so hard her knuckles turned white.

Then she saw him.

Jayden. The guy she'd been lowkey crushing on since September. He was leaning against the fence, orange compression shirt hugging his shoulders, laughing at something Tyler said. Maya's stomach did this embarrassing flip thing.

The ball machine fired. A neon orange ball came speeding at her.

Maya panicked. She swung like she was fighting off an angry swarm of bees, missing completely and nearly hitting herself in the face.

Everyone erupted. Not mean laughter, but still—laughter.

"Whoa there, Terminator," Jayden called out, grinning. "You gonna take out the whole court?"

Her face burned. She wanted to disappear, maybe teleport to another dimension where social skills weren't required.

"Bull," someone muttered behind her.

Maya turned. A guy in a varsity jacket shook his head. "That's bull she's never played before. No one swings that wildly on their first time unless they're putting on a show."

Wait, what?

"I'm serious," Maya said, her voice shaking. "I've literally never held a racket in my life."

The guy—his name was Marcus, apparently—studied her. Then he stepped onto the court. "Alright, let me see your stance."

Twenty minutes later, Maya was actually hitting the ball. Not well, but she was making contact. Marcus turned out to be the padel club captain, and apparently he took personal offense to bad technique. Even Jayden came over to watch, and for the first time all night, Maya wasn't thinking about how stupid she looked.

She was thinking about how the ball made this satisfying THWACK sound when she connected right.

How Chloe was cheering so loud she was practically screaming.

How maybe, just maybe, she didn't have to perform for people. Maybe she could just show up as herself—clumsy, new, trying—and that was enough.

"Not bad for a rookie," Jayden said as they walked out later, the orange dawn just starting to bleed into the sky. "You gonna come back?"

Maya smiled, her wrist aching in the best way. "Yeah. I think I will."