Disconnected at Sunset

The glow of Jamie's laptop screen painted their bedroom orange as summer light bled through the blinds. Three months into sophomore year and they'd finally started going by 'Jamie' instead of 'James' at school — small victories felt huge at fifteen.

"Yo, you joining the Discord call?" Marcus's text popped up. 'Prom is in two weeks and we need to plot strategy.' Strategy meant convincing Emma to go with Marcus, even though everyone knew she'd say yes.

But Jamie wasn't thinking about prom. Their stomach did that familiar flutter whenever they thought about what they were about to do — finally posting the photo they'd taken last week, the one where they were wearing their sister's skirt and makeup, the caption reading: 'maybe this is me.'

Then disaster struck.

Luna — their rescue cat, chaotic and beloved — launched herself from the dresser directly onto the ethernet cable connecting Jamie's setup. The cable ripped from the wall with a sickening snap. WiFi vanished. The photo sat in drafts, unposted.

"NO. Luna, WHAT THE ACTUAL—" Jamie grabbed their phone, desperate for signal. One bar. Enough to see the group chat blowing up without them.

'Jamie bailed lol'

'typical'

'guess they're not coming'

The orange light deepened to dusk. Jamie sat on the floor, Luna purring innocently against their leg, and suddenly it didn't matter. The post could wait. The group chat drama could wait. Some things weren't meant to be broadcast.

They scratched Luna behind the ears and grabbed a notebook instead. Some stories were meant to be written first, typed later.

Tomorrow, they'd buy a new cable. Tomorrow, they'd hit post. Tonight, they sat in the orange half-light and figured out exactly who they were becoming.