Lightning in the Battery
Maya's phone buzzed in her back pocket—probably Grace demanding to know where she was. The baseball game had dragged into extra innings, and the varsity team was losing bad. 3-12. Cringe.
She pulled out her iPhone, screen glowing in the dusk. Her ex Jake had posted a story with some sophomore from Central. Maya's thumb hovered over his profile, then she locked the screen. Not worth it. She was done doing that thing where she obsessively checked if he was watching her stories back.
"You good?"
Maya jumped. Tyler, the guy who sat behind her in Pre-Calc, was watching her from two rows down. His jersey said #7.
"Yeah, just... my goldfish is dying," she said, then winced. Why did she say that?
"For real?"
"His name was Gerald. He lasted three months, which is apparently impressive for a carnival fish." She shrugged. "But my cat, Biscuit, has been sitting on his bowl for like two days straight. Like she's mourning him or plotting his murder. Hard to tell with cats."
Tyler cracked up. Not polite laughter—actual laughter. His nose crinkled and everything.
The first drop of rain hit Maya's arm. Then another.
"Everyone out NOW!" Coach yelled through the megaphone. "Storm's coming in!"
People scattered—grabbing backpacks, fleeing to the parking lot. Maya stood, fumbling with her zipper, when—
CRACK.
Lightning struck the outfield light. The whole field flickered, then went dark. For a second, everything was shadows and chaos.
"You coming?" Tyler called, already halfway up the bleachers.
Maya hesitated. The rain was coming down harder now, soaking through her hoodie. She thought about Gerald floating sideways in his bowl. About Biscuit's yellow eyes watching him. About how three weeks ago she would've done anything to make Jake notice her, and now she was standing in a rainstorm talking to a guy who actually laughed at her jokes.
"Yeah," Maya said, jogging up the steps. "Hey—"
He turned back.
"You want a ride? My mom's here."
Tyler grinned. "Bet."
Maya's phone buzzed again in her pocket. She ignored it.