Operation Crush

Maya's locker was strategically positioned—perfect for watching him without being obvious. Not that she'd admit to being a spy or anything. She just happened to need books from her locker every time Caleb walked past, his orange Conaces scuffing against the linoleum like he owned the hallway.

"You're being creepy again," whispered Jordan, emerging from nowhere like the actual ninja he was. He'd earned the nickname "Fox" in middle school after he somehow got everyone's phone numbers without anyone remembering giving them to him. Still not sure how that happened.

"I'm observing," Maya corrected, closing her locker with perhaps too much force. "There's a difference."

"Right. And that's why you have his whole schedule memorized?" Jordan raised an eyebrow. "You know he has AP Calc with Bear third period? You could literally ask Bear to introduce you."

Maya groaned. Tyler "Bear" Wilson was six-foot-two of pure muscle and the sweetest human on Earth, but he was also oblivious. The last time Maya had tried to get Bear's help with anything social, he'd accidentally introduced her to the wrong guy's cousin instead.

"No thanks. My dignity has suffered enough."

The warning bell rang. Maya adjusted her phone case—cat-eared, because she was basic and proud—and headed to English, mentally rehearsing what she'd say if Caleb actually noticed her existence today.

"Hey." A voice behind her. Maya turned way too fast. Caleb. Standing there. Looking at her.

"Hey," she managed, and then her brain short-circuited.

"I like your cat case," he said. "My little sister has the same one. She's obsessed with cats."

"Oh! Yeah. I. Like cats. A normal amount." Why was she like this?

Caleb smiled, and Maya felt her face heat up. "Cool. Well, see you around, cat girl."

He walked away, orange Conaces disappearing into the crowd.

Jordan appeared beside her, looking suspiciously triumphant. "I may have mentioned your cat case to him yesterday. You're welcome."

Maya stared at her best friend, then back down the hallway where Caleb had vanished.

"I'm never telling you anything ever again," she said, but she was smiling. Operation Crush wasn't going according to plan, but somehow, that felt okay.