Lightning in the Deep End

Maya's phone buzzed with ten texts before she even rolled out of bed. 'Pool party at Tyler's. His parents are gone ALL WEEKEND.' Okay, dramatic capitalization from Jenna, but Maya felt that familiar twist in her stomach. She'd been crushing on Tyler since seventh grade, and he'd barely acknowledged her existence beyond borrowing pencils in pre-calc.

The party turned out to be exactly what Maya expected — too loud, too many people pretending to be cooler than they actually were. She perched on the diving board, nursing a warm soda, watching Tyler hold court around the pool's edge. That's when she saw it — a scruffy calico cat crouched under the patio furniture, looking as out of place as Maya felt.

"Hey little guy," Maya whispered, sliding off the board. The cat hissed but didn't run. Its left ear was notched like it'd been through some stuff. Maya could relate.

A crack of thunder made everyone scream. The summer storm had been threatening all evening, and suddenly lightning spiderwebbed across the sky. The party scattered like roaches when someone flicked the lights. Tyler shouted something about getting towels, but most people just grabbed their stuff and bolted.

Everyone except Maya.

She knelt by the cat as rain started pelting down in earnest. "You scared too?" The cat headbutted her hand, and something in Maya's chest loosened. She'd spent so long worrying about fitting in, about whether Tyler thought she was pretty enough, cool enough. But here she was, alone in a storm, and she'd never felt more herself.

The cat curled against her leg as they sat together on the pool's edge, watching lightning turn the water into flashes of silver. Maya realized she didn't want to be part of Tyler's crowd anyway. She liked quiet things. She liked cats who'd seen some rough times. She liked storms that scattered fake people and left behind what was real.

"Us against the world, little dude," she whispered, as rain plastered her hair to her face. The cat purred so hard Maya felt it in her bones.

Her phone buzzed again — Jenna wanting details. Maya turned it off and sat with her new friend until the storm passed. Sometimes the best moments happened when everyone else left.