Lightning in Her Palm

Maya's sweaty palm gripped the red solo cup like it was a lifeline. House parties weren't exactly her vibe, but when your best friend literally drags you out of your room because "you're spending way too much time on Tumblr," resistance is futile. The bass vibrated through the floorboards, rattling her teeth in that annoyingly pleasant way.

"You're literally just standing there," Chloe shouted over the music. "Loosen up! Someone's doing palm readings in the bathroom."

Bathroom palm readings. Peak suburban teenage boredom at its finest. But Maya followed anyway, because anything was better than watching people attempt to dance to mumble rap.

The bathroom line stretched down the hall. When it was finally her turn, some guy with too much hair gel grabbed her hand and stared at it like it was an alien artifact. "You're going to meet someone special tonight," he predicted with zero conviction. "Under unexpected circumstances."

Maya raised her eyebrows. "Did you literally say that to everyone?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Five bucks is five bucks."

Classic. She'd paid five dollars for a fortune that could've been generated by a bot. Maya pushed through the crowd toward the kitchen for a refill, but stopped dead. Through the sliding glass doors, lightning forked across the sky like cracks in reality. And there, crouched on the patio furniture, was the most enormous orange cat she'd ever seen. But the longer she stared, the more wrong it looked. The angular face. The tufted ears. The way it moved—liquid and dangerous and nothing like a house cat.

Fox. A literal fox.

Then someone slid beside her. "Wild, right?"

Maya turned. A girl in a vintage leather jacket, messy dark hair, and eyes that actually reflected the lightning like some kind of magic trick. The girl nodded at the fox.

"He's been showing up here for weeks. My mom thinks he's someone's escaped pet, but I'm pretty sure he's just built different. Built foxy."

The pun was so terrible Maya actually laughed. "That was literally awful."

"I know." The girl grinned. "I'm Reese."

"Maya."

"I know," Reese said. "I've seen you around school. You're always in the library during lunch." She paused. "The palm reading guy also told me I'd meet someone special tonight. Under unexpected circumstances."

Maya felt something shift in her chest. Lightning flashed again, illuminating everything in stark silver. The fox on the patio watched them through the glass, like it knew something they didn't. Like it had predicted this exact moment, in a bathroom line at a mediocre house party, surrounded by red cups and bad music.

"So," Reese said. "Want to get out of here?"

Maya set her cup down. Palm readings were fake, suburban foxes were confused, and house parties were overrated. But sometimes unexpected circumstances were exactly what you needed. "Absolutely."