Operation Crush

Lena's cat, Barnaby, sat by the window like he knew something she didn't. That was her first clue something huge was about to happen at Madison's pool party.

"You're going, right?" Maya had texted three times already. Lena stared at her iPhone screen, thumbs hovering. Her crush, Ethan, would definitely be there. But also: social anxiety, swimsuit panic, and the fact that she'd barely spoken two words to him all semester.

"I'll go as your spy," she finally typed back. "Intel gathering only."

"Perfect. Mission: find out if Ethan thinks I'm cute. Report back with findings."

Lena threw on her cover-up, grabbed her towel, and pretended her heart wasn't doing gymnastics. The pool party was already in full swing when she arrived—music thumping, kids everywhere, the smell of coconut sunscreen and chlorine hanging heavy in the humid air.

She spotted Ethan immediately. He was sitting by the pool edge, feet in the water, laughing at something someone said. His hair was wet, droplets catching the sunlight. Lena forgot how to breathe.

"Hey! Lena!" Madison waved her over. "Grab some chips!"

And suddenly Lena was in it. Splashing. Laughter. That weird feeling when you realize nobody is watching you as closely as you watch yourself. Ethan said hey to her. He actually said hey. Her brain short-circuited but somehow she managed to say hey back like a normal human being.

Hours later, curled up on her bed with Barnaby purring like a tiny motor beside her, Lena stared at her phone again.

"Well?" Maya's text popped up. "What's the report, spy?"

Lena smiled, something warm and hopeful blooming in her chest. She'd spent three hours at that party and Ethan had asked her about her cat. They'd talked for twenty whole minutes.

"Intel gathered," she typed. "But some findings are classified."

"What does that MEAN"

"It means," Lena wrote back, grinning, "that some missions have unexpected outcomes. Stay tuned."

Barnaby stretched and bumped his head against her hand. Sometimes the best spy missions aren't the ones you're sent on. They're the ones you didn't even know you needed.