Charger Cord Confessions

Maya adjusted her beat-up baseball **hat**, pulling the brim lower. First party of sophomore year, and she was already hiding in the bathroom. Her **iPhone** clutched in her sweating **palm**, she scrolled through TikToks she'd already seen ten times.

Outside, bass thumped against the door. Someone was knocking.

"Occupied!" Maya squeaked.

"Maya? You good in there?" It was Jayden. The Jayden she'd had a crush on since seventh grade algebra.

"Yeah! Just... fixing my hair!" Her voice cracked. Smooth.

"Cool. Well, your phone's probably gonna die. I saw you at 12% earlier."

Maya looked at her screen. 8%. The universal curse of the socially anxious.

"I have a **cable** in my bag," Jayden called through the door. "The good one, fast-charging. My mom made me buy two 'cause I'm always forgetting mine."

Maya's heart did that stupid flutter thing. "That's... actually really nice of you."

"Yeah, well." A pause. "I also have this **orange** soda that's flat now if you want it. It's gross but I'm not gonna finish it."

She unlocked the door.

Jayden leaned against the doorframe, holding a charging cable and a room-temperature orange soda. His hair was messy, and there was a smudge of something on his cheek.

"So," he said, "are we hiding out here together, or...?"

Maya smiled, finally adjusting her hat properly. "Together sounds better."

"Cool." He sat on the bathtub edge. "Wanna watch those TikToks together? I bet yours are better than mine."

"Deal. But no judging my FYP."

"No judging." He plugged in her phone. "We've all got cringe phases. Mine lasted until approximately yesterday."

She laughed, and the bathroom suddenly felt like the best place at the party.

Sometimes the best moments aren't the ones you plan for. Sometimes they're just sitting on a bathtub edge, sharing a flat orange soda, watching someone's battery percentage creep up while you realize you're not as invisible as you thought.