Operation Midnight Front Porch

Maya was currently running on three hours of sleep and an unholy amount of anxiety. Tonight was the night – junior year's first official rager, and she was finally invited. Sort of. Okay, she'd overheard Jessica talking about it in fourth period, but that basically counted.

"You good?" her best friend Leo asked, kicking a rock across the street. "You look like you're about to throw up."

"I'm vibing," Maya lied, adjusting her flannel for the seventeenth time. "Just nervous about the social interaction thing."

"You'll be fine. Just act natural, don't try too hard, and whatever you do, don't mention that you still watch Disney Channel."

"Deal." Maya took a deep breath. "So what's the plan for getting there? My mom thinks I'm at your house studying."

"We sneak out after my parents crash. They're asleep by ten." Leo lowered his voice dramatically. "My neighbor's dog starts barking at literally everything around 10:30, so we wait for that, then dip through the back fence."

"Classic." Maya nodded approvingly. "My neighbor has this cat that stares into my soul whenever I open my window. Sometimes I feel like it's watching me, judging my life choices."

"Cats are weird, man. One time my aunt's cat brought her a dead bird like a present. Who does that?"

As they rounded the corner toward Leo's house, Maya froze. "Wait. Is that – is that your little sister's friend Emma sitting on your front porch?"

Emma, a sixth grader with suspiciously excellent night vision, perched on the porch swing. "I know what you're doing," she announced.

Maya and Leo exchanged panicked looks.

"What?" Maya's voice came out an octave too high. "We're just –"

"You're going to Tyler's party," Emma said smugly. "I saw you get all dressed up. I'm telling your mom unless you pay me."

"You're literally twelve," Leo protested. "Since when do you blackmail people?"

"Since I discovered the power of information." Emma shrugged. "Twenty bucks and I forget everything."

"We don't have twenty bucks!" Maya hissed.

Emma considered this. "Fine. Take me with you and I won't say anything."

"Absolutely not," Leo said.

"Okay, have fun explaining to your mom why you weren't studying APUSH." Emma pulled out her phone, thumb poised over her mom's contact.

"Wait!" Maya grabbed Leo's arm. "She could be our, like... spy? Sit outside, text us if your parents wake up, we get to go to the party, everyone wins."

"I am NOT a spy," Emma scoffed. "I'm a strategic intelligence consultant."

"Oh my god, fine. Deal." Leo ran a hand through his hair. "But you're staying outside. And if my mom wakes up, you saw nothing."

Emma pumped her fist. "Operation Midnight Front Porch is a go."

Maya couldn't help it – she laughed. This wasn't exactly how she'd imagined her first party going, but somehow, running through the dark with a blackmailing middle schooler and her anxious best friend felt exactly like what growing up was supposed to be: messy, ridiculous, and completely unforgettable.