Orange Skies and Running

Maya's legs burned as she kept running, the rhythmic slap of her sneakers against pavement drowning out the text notifications she couldn't deal with right now. Another party she'd bailed on. Another group chat blowing up with "where r u???" and "we saved u a spot lol." As if.

The storm had turned the sky that weird orange color, like when you mix all the paint colors in art class and end up with something ugly but fascinating. Maya loved it. Everything felt simpler when she was running – no pressure to be funny, no anxiety about standing the wrong way, no forced conversations about nothing.

A flash of lightning split the sky electric purple, and Maya counted. One Mississippi, two Mississippi... boom. The thunder rattled her teeth. Close.

She ducked under the awning of the old corner store, breathing hard. And that's when she saw it – this scraggly calico cat, completely unfazed by the storm, sitting like it owned the sidewalk and licking its paw like being absolutely soaked was simply a lifestyle choice.

Maya laughed. Actual laughed. The cat glared at her with zero respect.

"You're not even trying," Maya told it. The cat flicked its tail.

Another lightning strike, closer this time. Maya's phone buzzed in her pocket. Probably Jordan again, asking if she was okay, if she wanted to talk. They'd been messaging all week after Maya had that panic attack in the cafeteria, because apparently hiding in the bathroom during lunch while shaking uncontrollably makes people NOTICE you.

But this? Running through a storm, talking to a random cat who couldn't care less about her social anxiety or whether she was "cool enough" for their friend group? This was easier. This was real.

The cat trotted over and rubbed its wet head against Maya's shin. Pure vibes.

"You're messy," Maya said, grinning. "I like messy."

Phone buzzed again. Maya pulled it out, fingers hovering over Jordan's message: "no pressure just checking in you dont have to reply 😊"

Maybe some people were worth the effort. Maybe running didn't always have to be away from things.

She typed back: "storm running with my new cat friend. coffee tomorrow?"