Connection Lost
The coaxial cable lay tangled on my bedroom floor like a dead snake, which meant my WiFi was dead too. On the night of Jordan's party. Of course.
"You're actually going?" My little sister leaned against my doorframe, feeding flakes to her goldfish. The orange blob swam aimlessly in its bowl, living that zero-responsibility life I'd kill for.
"Yeah. Jordan texted me. Like, actually texted me first." I grabbed my hoodie, trying to sound casual instead of low-key freaking out. Jordan had never noticed me until this week, and suddenly I'm invited to the party of the semester?
The goldfish bobbed at the surface, mouth opening and closing like it was laughing at me.
"Whatever," my sister said. "Just don't do that thing where you overthink everything and make it weird."
Excuse me for having feelings.
I got to Jordan's house and stood there for approximately seven years before ringing the doorbell. That's when I heard it—barking. Not like cute puppy barking. Like something was being murdered.
Jordan's dog, a massive golden retriever named Bro (yes, really), burst out the door and practically tackled me. My phone fell out of my pocket, skidding across the porch.
"Bro! DOWN!" Jordan appeared, laughing while wrestling this beast of a dog. "Sorry, he's basically a furry toddler with zero boundaries."
I retrieved my phone—screen cracked, naturally. Perfect.
But then Jordan was grabbing my arm to help me up, and their hand lingered on my shoulder, and suddenly the dog jumping on me was the best thing that ever happened. We ended up sitting on the porch steps while Bro drooled on my shoes, talking about everything and nothing.
"You know," Jordan said, "I'm glad you came. I was hoping you would."
The goldfish at home was definitely still swimming in circles, but me? I was finally moving forward. Even with cracked phone, drool-covered shoes, and zero WiFi.
Sometimes connection finds you when you're not even looking for it. And sometimes it tackles you like an overexcited dog and ruins your phone.
Worth it.