Lightning in a Bottle

I was crouched behind the garage clutching my iPhone like it was a grenade, watching the sky crack open. **Lightning** split the darkness, strobe-lighting the backyard where Tyler's party raged on without me.

"You coming in or what?" My best friend Maya appeared, holding two red Solo cups. "You've been out here for twenty minutes. It's weird."

"I'm about to bail," I admitted, my thumb hovering over the Uber app. "This isn't my scene. Everyone's inside playing beer pong and taking aesthetic photos for the 'gram, and I'm just... not."

Maya rolled her eyes so hard I practically heard it. "That's such **bull**, and you know it. Tyler invited you specifically. You're literally the only person who actually likes him, not his TikTok following."

A massive orange tabby cat vaulted over the fence, landing silently beside us. He had one ear torn and looked like he'd seen some things. We both froze. The **cat** headbutted my ankle, then Maya's, like we were long-lost friends.

"Is that... is that Tyler's cat?" I asked.

"Dude, I think that's a stray," Maya whispered back. "He looks like a street veteran."

Another lightning strike, closer this time. The cat didn't even flinch. He just stared at us like, *what's your deal, humans?*

"He's braver than me," I said, laughing. "I'm hiding from a high school party, and this cat is out here living his best life during a thunderstorm."

"Life tip," Maya said, handing me a cup. "Worry less about what everyone thinks. More like the cat."

"Since when are you the philosopher in this friendship?"

"Since you started having panic attacks behind garages. Come inside. Or don't. But whatever you do, stop refreshing your **iPhone** every ten seconds like someone's gonna text you permission to exist."

She was right. Not about the party—that part was still cringe—but the rest. I put my phone in my pocket. The cat rubbed against my leg one more time before disappearing into the night, like he'd delivered his message and moved on.

"Fine," I said, standing up. "But if anyone asks for my Snapchat, I'm throwing shade."

"Deal." Maya grinned. "Besides, Tyler's mom ordered way too much pizza. It's practically a public service to help."

We walked inside as the storm really broke, rain coming down in sheets. Behind us, somewhere in the dark, a cat yowled like he was laughing at us. Lightning flashed again, and for the first time all night, I didn't feel like hiding.