Orange Fox Summer

I lay on my bed doom-scrolling through Instagram, my calico cat Mochi sprawled across my legs like a furry obstacle course. For the past week, I'd been lowkey spying on Riley's profile — the new transfer student with that effortless cool-girl energy that made my brain short-circuit.

"You're being creepy," my best friend Jordan had texted earlier. "Just DM them already."

Easier said than done. My flirtation game was basically non-existent, reduced to nervously popping vitamin C gummies whenever anxiety hit. I'd already burned through half the bottle this week.

Outside my window, the sky blazed orange — that perfect summer golden hour that made everything feel like a movie montage. That's when I spotted it: a fox darting through the backyard, its red fur glowing against the fading light. It paused, looked right at my window, and then vanished into the bushes like it knew something I didn't.

My phone buzzed. Riley had posted a story: a photo of the same fox, captioned "new friend spotted behind the old library."

My hands shook as I typed: "omg i just saw that same fox behind my house"

"no way," Riley replied instantly. "are you serious??"

"dead serious. it literally looked at me like it had secrets"

"we should investigate," Riley wrote. "tomorrow after school?"

I stared at the screen, my heart doing those embarrassing fluttery things. Mochi nudged my hand, purring like she approved. Sometimes the universe conspired to give you exactly what you needed — a fox, a golden hour, and someone who wanted to share the mystery with you.