Zombie Mode at Match Point

My palms were sweating so much I could barely grip my racquet. Welcome to padel club, where freshmen like me came to get absolutely roasted by varsity gods in front of everyone.

Max, also known as The Bull for charging the net like an angry rhino, had been destroying me all game. My serves were pathetic. My returns were tragic. I was running on two hours of sleep and functioning on pure zombie mode, my brain feeling like it had been replaced with marshmallow fluff.

"Yo Tyler, you gonna stare at the ball all day or actually hit it?" someone yelled from the sidelines. Laughter rippled through the crowd. My face burned hotter than the midday sun.

I wiped my hands on my shorts. My palms were still slippery. Great.

Across the court, an orange rolling on the ground caught my eye. Some freshman must've dropped it during their match. It sat there in the middle of play, this perfect bright orange sphere looking completely out of place in this sea of competitive chaos.

Match point. The Bull wound up for a serve that looked fast enough to take my head off.

But then I saw something weird. His hand was shaking. Just a little tremble, but there it was. The all-powerful varsity god was nervous too.

I didn't think. I just moved. When the ball came, I didn't overthink it like I usually did. I connected with this satisfying *thwack* that echoed through the court. The ball sailed past The Bull's outstretched racquet, landing exactly where I wanted it—just inches from the baseline.

Silence. Then cheering. Actual cheering. For me.

"Nice one, rookie," The Bull said, nodding with what looked like actual respect. He held out his fist.

I bumped it, trying to play it cool even though my heart was hammering like crazy. Maybe tomorrow I'd be back to being invisible. Maybe I'd still be the awkward freshman who couldn't serve properly. But right now, in this moment, I wasn't just the zombie kid with sweaty palms anymore.

I grabbed that orange from the court on my way out, peeled it, and took a bite. Sweet. Perfect. Sometimes the weirdest days turned out to be the best ones.