Lightning in a Vitamin Bottle

Maya's palms were practically swimming as she stood at the edge of the beach bonfire party. Cameron, with his stupid perfect hair and that orange hoodie she'd been obsessing over for weeks, was literally ten feet away. Her best friend Riley had ditched her for some juniors near the snacks, because that's what best friends do when they spot someone they've been crushing on since seventh grade.

"Hey, you got a cable?" Cameron asked, appearing out of nowhere like he'd teleported. "My phone's at 4% and I'm supposed to meet my mom."

Maya's brain short-circuited. She did have a cable. A somehow-not-tangled charging cable that lived in her pocket like a security blanket. "Yeah, um, here." She handed it over, trying to play it cool but knowing she was failing spectacularly.

"You're a lifesaver." He leaned against the palm tree they were standing under, close enough that she could smell his cologne—something citrusy and expensive. "I'm Cameron, by the way."

"Maya. I know." Heat rushed to her face. "I mean, I've seen you around. English?"

"English. Where Mr. Henderson makes us analyze poetry that's clearly about something absolutely not appropriate for high schoolers."

She laughed. Actual words came out of her mouth. "Right? Like that one about the 'orange blossom' that was definitely not about flowers."

"Exactly!" His eyes lit up. "You get it. Nobody gets it." He checked his phone—12% now. "Hey, my friends are doing this thing tomorrow. We're gonna try those new energy vitamins before the SAT prep marathon. You should come."

Lightning crackled through her chest, sharp and terrifying and amazing. "Like, a study group?"

"Like, definitely a study group." His smile was everything. "Bring your cable. Riley can come too, if she's not too busy abandoning you at parties."

He noticed. He actually noticed.

"Yeah," Maya said, grinning so hard her face hurt. "I'll be there."

As he walked away, phone finally charging, she realized something: sometimes the most terrifying moments—the ones that make your hands sweat and your brain empty out—are exactly the ones that change everything. And sometimes, all it takes is a dead phone battery and a cable to make lightning strike.