Electric Summer Storm

Maya's hair had declared war on her. She'd spent forty-five minutes trying to tame it, but the humidity had other plans. Now she stood at the edge of Jessica's backyard party, feeling like the world's most awkward human, while everyone else seemed to glow with effortless confidence.

"Yo, Maya! You gonna stand there all night?" Jason called from across the pool. Her crush. Of course.

She felt her face heat up. Her palms were sweating—like, actually sweating—and she wiped them on her dress without thinking. Great. Now she had grease marks AND hair that looked like she'd stuck a fork in an electrical socket.

The storm clouds overhead were brewing something dramatic. Flickers of lightning cracked the sky, nature's own light show, but nobody seemed to care. They were too busy being sixteen and invincible.

"Hey."

She jumped. Jason was suddenly right there, holding out a cup. "Papaya smoothie. My mom went through a phase last year and bought, like, a hundred frozen ones. Want?"

"I—uh—" Maya's brain short-circuited. "Thanks?"

He sat beside her on the grass, their shoulders barely touching. The party noise faded to background static.

"You know," Jason said, staring up at the sky, "my grandma claims she can read palms. Says the lines show your future."

Before Maya could process this weird pivot, he took her hand—her hand, the sweaty one—and traced a line across her **palm** with his finger. His touch was light, careful, like she was something precious.

"This one means you're gonna do something big," he said. "I can feel it."

Another flash of **lightning** split the sky. The first raindrop hit her nose.

"Oh crap, everyone inside!" someone screamed.

But Jason didn't move. He looked at her, water dripping from his hair onto his forehead, and smiled this smile that made her chest feel weirdly tight.

"Your hair's kind of amazing," he said. "Like, wild. Like you're not trying to be something you're not."

The rain came down harder, soaking them both, and they were laughing, actually laughing, and maybe this was what people meant when they talked about moments that rearranged you, little moments that built up like some emotional **pyramid** until you could finally see the view from the top.

Maya didn't know her future. She didn't know if she'd ever feel like she fit in. But right now, in the rain, with Jason's hand still holding hers, she felt something electric run through her veins.

And for the first time all night, she didn't want to be anywhere else.