Fox Lake Rules

The cabin's cable internet cut out at exactly the wrong moment—right as Maya was about to DM Ethan back. "You've got to be kidding me."

Her cousin Leo sprawled on the couch, scrolling through his phone like he hadn't a care in the world. "Relax. We're supposed to be disconnecting anyway. Aunt Lisa's rules."

Maya threw her hands up. "Easy for you to say! You don't have a social life to implode."

"Ouch." Leo grinned. "Wanna go swimming instead? Lake's actually decent this year."

Maya hesitated. The lake meant putting on a swimsuit in front of everyone, including Leo's friends from the neighboring cabin who'd shown up unannounced. Including Jake, who'd been giving her these looks all weekend.

"Fine," she said. "But I'm wearing the t-shirt over everything."

"Deal."

The water was shockingly cold—Maya's kind of perfect. She dove in, resurfacing to find Jake already watching her. "Finally decided to join us?"

"Finally decided you were worth talking to," she shot back, and everyone oooohed like they were twelve. Maya's face burned, but she was grinning too.

They splashed around until Leo's friend Sarah screamed. "There's literally a fox on the dock!"

It was—a scrawny, bright-eyed fox that had somehow gotten hold of someone's flannel shirt and was now trotting away with it like it had just won the lottery.

"That's my shirt!" Leo yelled, wading toward shore.

The fox paused, looked back with the most unimpressed expression Maya had ever seen on an animal, then vanished into the trees.

"Dude," Jake said, "that fox just owned you."

Later, wrapped in towels and watching the sunset from the porch, Maya's phone buzzed. One bar of signal, just enough.

Ethan had replied: *camp sounds awful. wish u were here*

She read it three times, then deleted it. Some things were better left unsaid.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, dropping beside her. His hair was still damp, sticking up everywhere.

"Nothing." Maya smiled, and this time it felt real. "Just... figuring some stuff out."

The old bear clock in the cabin chimed eight times. Somewhere in the woods, that fox was probably laughing at them. And for the first time all weekend, Maya didn't care about the cable, or Ethan, or any of it.

She was exactly where she needed to be.