Fox Tracks on Pavement

Maya's legs burned, but she didn't stop running. The cross-country coach said she had natural talent, but Maya knew the truth: she was just good at getting away from things.

Especially parties like this one.

She'd lasted exactly twenty-three minutes at Sarah's house before the bass, the bodies, the casual cruelty of too-loud laughter sent her sprinting out the back door. Now she leaned against a tree in the darkened park behind the subdivision, her palm pressed against the rough bark, trying to calm her racing heart.

"You know," a voice said from the shadows, "most people fake being sick to leave parties. You just straight-up vanished."

Maya jumped. A girl stepped into the dim light from the house—Elena, from her AP Bio class. The one who always sat in the back, always doodling in a notebook instead of taking notes.

"Yeah, well." Maya crossed her arms. "Social battery died."

"Mine's been dead since freshman year." Elena leaned against the tree next to her, close enough that Maya caught her scent—something like vanilla and old books. "I'm just here for the free food, honestly."

Maya laughed, surprising herself. "Same."

They stood there in silence for a minute. Then something moved at the edge of the woods—a flash of russet fur, a bushy tail.

"No way," Elena whispered.

A fox paused in the spill of light from the house, its amber eyes gleaming. It regarded them with what looked distinctly like amusement before trotting off into the darkness.

"That was iconic," Maya said. "Like, actually legendary timing."

"The universe has a sense of humor." Elena turned to her, suddenly close. Their faces were inches apart. "Hey, can I see your hand?"

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me."

Maya hesitated, then held out her right hand. Elena took it—her skin warm, her touch gentle—and traced the lines in Maya's palm with delicate fingers.

"You're going to do something amazing someday," Elena said softly. "I can feel it."

Maya's breath hitched. The bass from the party thudded in the distance, but here, everything was quiet and electric and suddenly full of possibility.

"Yeah?" Maya managed. "Like what?"

"Don't know." Elena smiled, crooked and genuine. "But I'd like to stick around and find out."

Maya's palm tingled where Elena's fingers had been. The fox was gone, the party was still blaring, but for the first time in forever, Maya didn't feel like running anymore.