Operation Crush Protocol

Maya's palms were sweating—like, actually dripping onto her phone screen as she refreshed Instagram for the hundredth time. The notification she'd been waiting for finally popped up: *alex_cruz started following you*.

She had to play it cool. Had to.

"You're staring at your phone like it holds the secrets of the universe," her best friend Ji-Yoon said, sliding into the cafeteria booth across from her. "Or like you're trying to Instagram-stalk Alex without actually liking any of his posts. Which, by the way, is literally what you're doing."

"I'm not stalking," Maya lied smoothly. "I'm conducting research. Strategic intelligence gathering. Like a spy, but for crushes."

Ji-Yoon snorted. "A spy who leaves a trail of sweaty palm prints everywhere she goes? Real 007 energy there, bestie."

Maya wiped her hands on her jeans, ignoring her friend's judgment. The plan was simple: casually "run into" Alex near his locker, say something witty and effortless, maybe make him laugh with that cute nose-crinkle thing he did, and definitely not mention that she'd mentally planned their entire relationship timeline including college and whose apartment they'd get. Normal crush behavior.

The universe, however, had other plans.

As Maya walked toward Alex's locker, determined to execute Operation Talk To Him Without Making It Weird, she spotted him standing with sophomore queen bee Chloe. They were laughing. He did the nose-crinkle. Chloe flipped her hair.

Maya stopped dead.

Then she saw it. A flash of orange fur darting out from behind the lockers. The school's infamous stray cat—a massive orange tabby the student body had collectively named Mango—was weaving through Alex's legs. Alex looked down, grinning, and scratched behind Mango's ears. Chloe recoiled like she'd just touched poison ivy.

"Ew, it's that stray," Chloe said, her voice carrying. "It's probably covered in diseases or something."

Alex kept petting the cat. "Nah, Mango's chill. Leave him alone."

Maya's heart did something embarrassing. Alex was kind to cats AND he'd defended one against Mean Girl energy? That was it. She was done for.

She turned to Ji-Yoon, who'd appeared behind her like a dramatic Greek chorus. "New plan: I'm becoming a cat person."

"You're allergic to cats."

"Details don't matter, Ji-Yoon. Love conquers allergens."