Offline Mode

Maya stared at her cracked iPhone screen, another group chat blowing up without her. Three notifications. Five. Eight. Her thumb hovered, ready to type some excuse about being busy, but what was she actually busy with? Nothing. That was the problem.

"You coming?" Leo stood at her door, holding a padel racquet like he belonged on a poster. "Everyone's playing."

Maya's hand went to her hair—frizzy from yesterday's failed curling experiment, pulled into a messy bun that screamed 'I give up.' She hadn't been seen in public like this since seventh grade. "I can't. My hair's—"

"—hair that literally nobody cares about," Leo finished. "Please. Just come."

She grabbed her phone off the charger, the cable whipping across her desk. Fine. Whatever.

The courts smelled like rubber and summer sweat. Maya clutched the rental racquet like a weapon, watching everyone else move with practiced ease. They'd been playing for months. She'd been... refreshing Instagram.

"You're overthinking it," Leo said during a water break. "Just hit the ball."

Easy for him to say. His hair somehow looked better messy. Everything looked better on him.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Again. She ignored it.

Something shifted. Maybe it was the third game when she finally connected with the ball—that perfect *thwack* echoing through the court. Maybe it was Leo's teammate high-fiving her like she'd just won something. Maybe it was the realization that nobody was looking at her hair. They were watching the game.

"Not bad for a beginner," Leo grinned, sweat dripping down his face. His phone lay forgotten on the bench next to hers.

Maya checked her notifications later. Seventeen new messages. Whatever.

At dinner, her mom actually looked up from her own phone. "You look... happy?"

Maya's fingers found the frizzy strands falling out of her bun. Whatever. It was just hair.

"Yeah," she said. "I think I might go back tomorrow."

Her iPhone sat on the counter. The cable was still plugged in, but the screen stayed dark. For the first time in forever, she didn't care what she was missing. She was too busy actually being there.