Electric Night

Maya crouched behind the concession stand, feeling like the world's worst spy. Her phone buzzed in her pocket—another text from Sofia asking where she'd disappeared to during the home game—but Maya couldn't move. Not yet.

Across the gym, Tyler stood by the bleachers, laughing at something his friends said. Maya had spent three months "spying" from lockers and bathroom doorways, gathering intel like his favorite candy (Skittles, red ones only) and the way he tapped his left foot when he was nervous.

Lightning cracked outside, and the gym lights flickered. Someone screamed. The perfect distraction.

Maya slipped toward the exit, but her backpack snagged on something—a massive cardboard sphinx from the drama club's Egyptian production. It toppled sideways, landing with a theatrical crash that silenced half the gym.

"Nice," someone muttered.

Face burning, Maya scrambled outside. The parking lot was emptying fast as parents arrived to collect students before the storm hit. Rain began to fall, huge drops that soaked through her hoodie instantly.

Then she saw it—a cat, crouched under the bleachers, fur matted with rain. And behind it, a dog, leash still attached, watching her with these ancient eyes like it knew exactly how much she wanted to disappear right now.

"Hey," Maya whispered. "You guys hiding too?"

The cat meowed. The dog inched closer, and suddenly Maya was crying, crouched in the rain with two stray animals while Tyler Henderson was somewhere inside, probably wondering what that crash had been.

Her phone buzzed again. Sofia: "WHERE ARE YOU"

Maya wiped her face. "Nowhere," she typed back.

She sat there until her mom's car pulled up, the cat and dog watching her go. And for the first time in three months, she didn't look back at the gym doors once.

Some missions were meant to fail anyway.