Cables and Palms

Marcus's palms were sweating so bad he could practically water plants with them. fifteen years old and still losing his cool over the thought of talking to Maya. He stood outside her house during Jessica's party, phone in hand, feeling like total zombie bait after scrolling until 3 AM.

"You gonna stand there all night?" Jamal appeared beside him, handing him a soda. "Or you gonna actually talk to her?"

"I'm gathering intel," Marcus lied, though they both knew he was just spiraling. "Like a spy. A tactical pause."

"Bro, you've been tactically pausing for like twenty minutes." Jamal laughed and clapped his shoulder. "Just go in. Tyler's being a total bull in there anyway, talking about his lacrosse scholarship like it's the Nobel Prize."

Tyler. The actual human bull who'd tripped Marcus in the cafeteria last week for "accidentally" looking at Maya. Marcus felt his chest tighten at the name.

Inside, the party was chaos in the best way. palm tree lights strung up around the patio gave everything this golden California vibe. Everyone was crowded around the TV, watching old music videos on cable because apparently Jessica's parents were vintage like that.

And there she was. Maya, laughing at something Tyler said, looking effortless and perfect and completely out of Marcus's league.

He was turning to bail when Maya's eyes locked with his. She actually waved him over.

"Marcus! Hey!" She smiled and it was like everything went silent. "You good? You look... intense."

"Yeah, just," he swallowed, palms somehow sweating more, "zombie mode. Late night gaming."

"Relatable." She moved closer, away from Tyler's orbit. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Why were you standing outside earlier? Like, literally just staring at your phone?" She grinned like she knew exactly why. "Or were you trying to spy on the party first?"

Marcus felt his face burn. "Maybe I was just... assessing the situation. Tactical approach."

"You're such a dork," she said, but in a way that sounded like she didn't hate it. "Wanna get out of here? Tyler's becoming too much bull, even for him."

They ended up on the front porch, Maya showing him this palm reading app she was obsessed with. She took his hand, traced the lines on his palm with actual focus, and Marcus forgot everything about being cool or tactical or whatever.

"You're gonna do something big," she said quietly. "I can feel it."

His phone buzzed in his pocket — probably Jamal wondering where he'd disappeared to. But Marcus didn't check. Some moments were better than any cable connection, better than scrolling, better than watching from the sidelines.

"Yeah," he said, palm still tingling where she'd touched it. "Maybe I am."