Electric Summer Nights

The backyard bonfire crackled as Maya sat on the picnic bench, nursing a warm soda and watching the sparks drift upward like reverse **lightning**. This was supposed to be the party of the summer, but honestly? She felt like a **goldfish** in a bowl — just swimming in circles while everyone else seemed to actually know what they were doing.

Her phone buzzed. Again.

*You coming? Liam's asking about you.*

Liam. The guy she'd been crushing on since freshman year, who'd finally noticed her existence approximately three weeks ago. The problem was, the version of herself she'd presented online — confident, chill, always up for anything — felt about as real as filters on a tiktok.

"Hey!"

Maya jumped. Kira, the girl she'd been avoiding all night, slid onto the bench beside her. Kira with the perfect eyeliner and the reputation for being a total **fox**, who'd supposedly hooked up with half the soccer team. Maya's stomach did that awful twist it always did when she felt fake.

"You're hiding," Kira said, not accusing. Just stating it. She held out a half-eaten **papaya** she'd probably brought because she was into that whole aesthetic wellness vibe. "Want some? It's actually fire."

"I'm good."

"You know what's weird?" Kira popped a piece of fruit into her mouth. "Everyone thinks I'm this party animal who's always so sure of herself. But I'm literally just here because my mom said I need to 'put myself out there' or whatever." She laughed. "I feel like a **bear** trying to dance. Just clumsy and wrong-sized."

Maya stared at her. "Seriously?"

"Dude, yes." Kira bumped her shoulder. "We're all just pretending to know what we're doing."

Outside, real lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating Kira's imperfect smile. And suddenly Maya got it — the chasing, the performing, the exhausting work of being someone else. None of them had it figured out.

"Wanna go back out there and be awkward together?" Kira asked.

Maya grinned. "Bet."

"But like, low-key." Kira stood up, brushed off her shorts. "We're not trying that hard."

They walked toward the fire, and Maya's phone stayed in her pocket. The real version was messier but better anyway.