Electric Heights

The social pyramid at Northwood High was real, and Maya was stuck in the middle layer — visible enough to be seen by the popular kids, invisible enough to be ignored by everyone else.

"You coming to Jake's party?" asked Leo, texting furiously. "Heard it's gonna be lit."

Maya rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt. "Maybe. If I feel like social suicide."

"Come on, it's the last party before finals. Live a little."

Maya's phone buzzed with a text from her mom: Grandma's cat needs feeding. Please don't forget. Again.

"Can't," Maya typed back. "Cat duty."

Leo sent back a crying emoji. "You're missing out. Taylor said she might actually show up."

Taylor, who sat at the very top of the pyramid. Taylor, whose Instagram posts got more likes than the school's official page. Taylor, who had once looked directly through Maya as if she were made of glass.

But something pulled Maya toward Grandma's house instead. Maybe it was the excuse to avoid another night of standing alone at a party, nursing a warm soda while everyone else formed their exclusive circles.

Grandma's house smelled like lavender and old books. Barnaby, her ancient orange tabby, blinked slowly from his favorite armchair.

"Hey, fuzzball," Maya said, filling his bowl. "At least you don't care about pyramids."

Barnaby purred and rubbed against her hand, his motorboat sound filling the quiet room.

Outside, the sky purpled. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Maya's phone lit up with photos from Jake's party. Kids arranged in perfect formation — beer pyramid in the background, actual human pyramid in the foreground. Taylor smiling, radiant and untouchable.

Then came the lightning strike.

Not real lightning. But close enough.

A text from Taylor herself: hey, this is random but u seem cool. wanna hang sometime?

Maya stared at her screen. Barnaby head-butted her hand, demanding attention.

"The world's ending," she told the cat.

Lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating everything in stark, sudden brightness. The room, the cat, her phone screen with its impossible message.

Maya thought about the pyramid. About climbing it versus burning it down. About how maybe the coolest thing she could do was reply: only if u like cats

She hit send.

Outside, the rain began to fall.