Fox Run Lightning Speed

Maya's phone buzzed for the third time in Spanish class. Mrs. Henderson was mid-sentence about something Maya had stopped caring about twenty minutes ago. Under her desk, she sneak-checked the notification: CAT Group Chat.

"Fox, you coming to Jordan's party tonight?" Emma had texted.

The nickname "Fox" had stuck freshman year after Maya dyed her hair orange on impulse. Now a junior, she'd grown into it — quick-thinking, adaptable, always three steps ahead of everyone else. Except when it came to Jordan, who she'd been lowkey crushing on since September.

Maya was so busy replying that she didn't hear Mrs. Henderson call her name until someone coughed. Her head snapped up like she'd been shocked by lightning.

"Care to join us, Maya?" The teacher raised an eyebrow. The class snickered. Someone's phone camera flash went off.

After school, Maya needed to clear her head. She started running — her thing since middle school cross-country. Headphones in, playlist on repeat, feet hitting pavement in rhythm. Behind her neighborhood was this stretch of woods everyone called "the trails" but was basically just overgrown paths where kids sometimes vaped or hooked up.

That's when she saw it — an actual fox, red-orange fur glowing in the golden hour light, just chilling on a fallen log like it owned the place. Their eyes locked. The fox tilted its head, almost judgmentally, before taking off like it was late for something important.

Maya stood there catching her breath when Jordan texted: "hey noticed u left school fast. u good?"

She stared at her phone, heart still running from the unexpected wildlife encounter. The fox had seemed so confident, so completely itself. Meanwhile Maya was out here overthinking every interaction like her life depended on not being awkward.

But then she remembered how the fox had just bolted without hesitation. Sometimes you gotta just go for it.

"yeah all good," she typed back. "u going to that party?"

Jordan responded instantly: "only if u are lol"

Maya smiled. Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all. The fox would be proud.