Greenscreen

The party was already peak cringe before I even walked in. I could feel the **lightning** crackling through my phone—three new notifications, all from Group Chat, all variations of "where r u??"

I wasn't ready. My mom had literally force-fed me a **vitamin** gummy and lectured about "making healthy choices" before dropping me off, as if one little orange star could counteract whatever disaster awaited inside.

Inside, Kayla's basement smelled like cheap body spray and desperation. Someone's **dog**—a golden retriever wearing a tiny bow tie—was hogging the couch, living its best life while everyone pretended to be chill.

I grabbed a handful of chips and tried to blend into the wall.

"Yo, isn't that your ex?" Maya whispered, nudging me.

I looked. Of course Jordan was there. Of course he was talking to HER. The girl I'd been lowkey **spy**-ing on Instagram for weeks, the one whose feed was perfect vacations and aesthetic breakfast bowls with actual **spinach** and everything looking effortless and I couldn't even.

Something about seeing them together—really seeing them, not just through screenshots and overanalyzed captions—hit different. Jordan laughed at something she said, head thrown back, and I realized: I'd been obsessing over a highlight reel.

The dog bumped my leg, demanding pets. I knelt down, burying my hands in its fur, breathing in its earthy, real smell.

"Hey," said a voice.

I looked up. This guy I'd seen around school—played guitar, always wore the same black hoodie.

"Your dog is way more interesting than this party," he said.

"He's not my dog," I said, then realized how weird that sounded. "I mean, I wish. He seems chill."

"Yeah," he said. "Better than standing around pretending to care about who's dating who."

Outside, actual lightning cracked the sky, illuminating everything in sudden white. Someone screamed like it was a horror movie.

"Wanna go check out the storm?" he asked.

I left my phone in my pocket. Left the group chat on read. Left Jordan and his spinach-smoothie perfect girl and went outside where the air actually moved.

Sometimes you gotta stop spying on everyone else's life and actually start living yours.