electric sky

Jordan's pocket buzzed for the third time in thirty seconds. Her iphone, practically glowing through her swim bag's thin fabric. Probably the group chat exploding about Tyler's party tonight—the one she wasn't sure she wanted to attend anyway.

"You're up," Coach Miller called, blowing her whistle sharply.

Jordan stood at the edge of the pool, stomach doing that familiar flip thing. Swimming had always been her safe space, but today the water looked different—almost silver under the storm-darkening sky. She'd finally worked up the nerve to tell Maya she liked her two days ago. Maya's response? A maybe.

She dove.

The water wrapped around her like everything would be okay, even when it wasn't. Two laps in, the first crack of lightning splintered across the sky—brilliant, jagged, impossibly fast. Jordan surfaced to chaos.

"Everyone out, NOW!" Coach Miller's voice cut through the sudden wind.

Grabbing her bag, Jordan scrambled toward the covered padel courts where everyone was sheltering. The rain came down in sheets, turning the world gray and hazy. And there was Maya, sitting alone on a bench, scrolling through her phone.

Jordan's heart did something stupid and complicated.

"Hey," Maya said, looking up. She'd changed into her padel gear—those cute little skirt things everyone wore. "Wild weather, right?"

"Yeah." Jordan stood there, dripping pool water everywhere, suddenly hyper-aware of how not-cute she looked. "About the other day—"

"I was gonna say yes," Maya cut in, her phone lighting up with notifications she ignored completely. "I just got scared. I've never done this before."

Outside, lightning struck again—closer this time. The storm had arrived.

"Done what?" Jordan asked, breath catching.

"Liked someone who actually noticed me back." Maya's phone sat dark in her hand. "My parents are super strict. They'd freak if they knew. But honestly?" She looked Jordan in the eyes. "I don't care right now."

Jordan's phone buzzed in her bag. The group chat. The party. Everything else that had felt so important ten minutes ago.

She left it there.

"Wanna hang out after the storm?" Jordan asked. "We could get food or something?"

Maya smiled, and it was better than any party. "I'd love that."

The rain drummed against the metal roof, loud and perfect. Jordan's iphone kept buzzing in her bag. Some notifications, she decided, were worth missing.