Lightning in the Palm of My Hand

Maya's thumb hovered over the send button, her iPhone screen glowing like a lifeline in the darkness of her room. Outside, thunder rattled the window, but inside, her heart was doing something worse—a nervous stutter that had nothing to do with the storm brewing over suburban Connecticut.

"You're actually going, right?" The text from Chelsea glowed back at her. "Party of the year. Don't make me come over there."

Maya groaned and typed back, "Already in the car, chill." Total lie. She was wearing the same oversized hoodie she'd had on for three days, doomscrolling through Instagram and watching everyone else's life look better than hers.

Her phone died at 17%, right as a bolt of lightning cracked the sky in half. Perfect.

"Maya!" Her mom's voice from downstairs. "Dr. Aris is here with that—thing."

Oh right. The fostering thing. Her parents had decided to foster exotic animals now or something. Maya dragged herself downstairs, already composing the cancellation text to Chelsea in her head.

But then she saw it—a Sphynx cat, naked and alien-looking, with enormous ears that stuck out like it was permanently surprised. It stared at Maya with eyes that seemed to hold more wisdom than anything she'd seen on TikTok.

"This is Cleo," Dr. Aris said, placing the wrinkled creature on the counter. "She needs a home for the weekend. Her owner's in the hospital."

Cleo stretched, yawned like a tiny opera singer, then fixed Maya with that sphinx-like gaze again. Something about the creature's total unbotheredness hit Maya different. This cat wasn't checking for likes. wasn't worried about who was talking to whom at Ryan's party. Cleo just *was*—naked, weird, and completely okay with it.

"You know what?" Maya said, the words surprising her. "Cancel the car. I'm staying."

She texted Chelsea: "Rain check. Something came up."

Another lightning strike flashed, illuminating Cleo's wrinkled face as the cat headbutted Maya's hand. For the first time in forever, Maya's phone stayed facedown on the counter, and she didn't even miss it.