Lightning in Her Palm

Maya's palms were sweating so much she could practically water plants with them. Which was ironic, considering she was standing in front of Madame Zora's Mystical Fortune Tent at the boardwalk, about to get her palm read for the first time.

"Your friends think this'll be hilarious," Chloe whispered, practically vibrating with excitement. "We recorded it for TikTok."

"You're the worst," Maya hissed, but she was already stepping through the purple velvet curtains.

Madame Zora—clearly just Mrs. Chen from the bodega wearing excessive eyeliner—gestured for Maya to extend her hand. "Ah, I see much turbulence in your future, young one. Heart matters. Confusion. A choice approaching."

Maya pulled her hand back. "That's literally every sixteen-year-old ever."

Outside, someone had started eating that radioactive spinach artichoke dip from the snack bar. Maya could smell it from here—processed cheese and sadness. Her stomach did a nervous little flip because JASON was standing right by the dip table, looking unfairly good in his vintage band tee.

"Also," Madame Zora continued, dramatically lowering her voice, "you will soon experience a... moment of electric clarity. Like—"

*CRACK.*

Lightning literally struck the ferris wheel outside. The entire boardwalk went dark.

"No way!" someone screamed.

Maya scrambled backward in the pitch black, crashing directly into someone solid.

"Whoa, you okay?" Jason's voice. Right in her ear.

Her palms were still sweating. This was fine. Everything was fine. Except—

"You have, uh, something in your teeth," Jason said, handing her his phone flashlight. "It's glowing green. Pretty hardcore."

Spinach. From before. In the emergency lighting, her spinach-filled smile was basically radioactive.

But instead of dying on the spot, Maya started laughing. Jason laughed too, and somehow they ended up sitting on a bench watching emergency crews fix the ferris wheel, talking about how Mrs. Chen's predictions were accidentally right—the lightning had literally brought them this electric clarity moment.

"So," Jason said, "same time next week?"

Maya grinned, spinach and all. "If there's more dip involved? Absolutely."