Behind the Feed

Maya felt like a total stalker, honestly. She'd been covertly watching Kai's stories for three weeks straight — basically a low-rent spy with unlimited data and zero chill. Her iPhone burned in her hand as she refreshed again.

They'd shared maybe three actual sentences since junior year started, but she knew his coffee order, his dog's name, and that he was weirdly obsessed with vintage band tees.

"You're lurking again," Jordan deadpanned from the beanbag chair, not even looking up from their Switch. "That's so borderline creeper vibes."

"Shut up, I'm not creeping, I'm — doing market research?" Maya protested, but her face was already burning.

Right then her phone dinged. A story from Kai. She nearly dropped it.

It was him at his family's restaurant, Lin's Kitchen, looking weirdly stressed. Caption: *adulting is hard when your dad is out sick and you're alone on a Saturday*

Maya sat up. This was...

An idea formed. Possibly the worst idea she'd ever had, which was saying something.

Twenty minutes later, she walked through Lin's door. Kai looked up from the counter, practically sagging with relief when he saw a familiar face.

"Oh thank god, you're a lifesaver," he breathed. "Can you handle the register? I'm drowning back here."

"Uh, sure?" Maya said, already apron-tying her way into her first job she never actually applied for.

What followed was a glorious disaster of spilled drinks, wrong orders, and the world's angriest customer — a total bull of a man who screamed about his beef being undercooked like he was auditioning for a reality show.

Kai stepped in like a boss, apologized with what looked like genuine calm (his hand was totally shaking, Maya noticed), comped the guy's meal, and somehow didn't cry until the bull stormed out.

"That was insane," Kai said, pressing his palms into his eyes. "I can't believe you stayed and helped."

"Honestly?" Maya wiped spinach from her front teeth where it'd been camping out for who knows how long. "Better than lurking from my phone."

Kai actually laughed. Real laugh, not Instagram-curator laugh.

"Tomorrow," he said, "same time? I'll actually pay you this time."

"Deal," Maya said. "But I'm keeping the apron. It makes me look professional."

Later that night, Jordan was waiting when Maya got home. "So... how was the spying mission?"

"Not spying anymore," Maya said, grinning at her phone. "I think I accidentally got employed. Also, Kai has a really nice laugh when he's not performing for an audience."

"Ugh, you're annoying when you're right," Jordan said, but they were smiling too.

Maya went to bed thinking some stories were better lived than watched from the outside.