Foxes Don't Get Nervous

Maya's palms were sweating so bad she could practically water plants with them. She was sixteen, standing in Taylor's backyard, and this was supposed to be THE party of the semester. The one everyone would be talking about on Monday. Instead, Maya was currently hiding behind a palm tree, internally screaming.

"You good?" Maya's best friend Juana appeared out of nowhere, holding two red cups. "You've been back here for like, twenty minutes. Connor's asking about you."

"Connor?" Maya's voice went up an octave. "Since when does Connor ask about me?"

"Since you wore that skirt, maybe?" Juana smirked. "Or since you accidentally sent him that Snap of you doing homework in the library? Either way, he's interested. And you're literally shaking."

"I'm not shaking," Maya lied. Her phone buzzed. Connor. The butterflies in her stomach were doing full gymnastics routines.

That's when it happened.

A flash of orange darted through the party. A literal fox. Like, from nature. It was holding something in its mouth—a cat toy? No, wait. That was a cat chasing it.

"WHAT?" someone yelled.

"Is that a FOX?"

"Why is there a cat chasing a fox?"

The fox, seemingly unbothered by being the main character of everyone's chaotic energy, hopped onto a picnic table. The cat—a calico that looked suspiciously like Mrs. Henderson's missing feline—sat at the bottom of the table, meowing indignantly.

"That's definitely Mrs. Henderson's cat," Maya realized. "She lives three streets over."

The fox looked around, dropped what it was holding (a half-eaten protein bar, truly), and then just... trotted away like it had somewhere better to be. The cat immediately sat on the protein bar like it was a throne.

Everyone pulled out their phones. This was content.

Connor appeared next to Maya, watching the fox disappear into the darkness. "Did that just happen?"

"Yeah," Maya said. Her palms were still sweaty, but somehow, the absurdity of it all made everything else feel less terrifying. "Hey, Connor?"

"Yeah?"

"Want to help me figure out how to return a cat to three streets over?"

Connor grinned. And in that moment, Maya realized something important: foxes might be cool and confident in stories, but real life? Real life was weird and messy and sometimes involved foxes at parties. And that was way better.

"Absolutely," he said. "Let's go."