PALM READ

Leo sat across from Sky in the cafeteria, his palms sweating so much he thought he might short out his phone. She was looking at him with those annoyingly perceptive eyes, the ones that saw right through his I'm-totally-chill façade.

"So," Sky said, spinning a Parker Brothers card box between her fingers. "You gonna tell me what's up with you and Maya, or am I gonna have to pull it out of you?"

"There's no me and Maya," Leo said, which was technically true. There was just Leo obsessively checking his phone to see if she'd viewed his story, and Maya giving him literally zero response. "She probably doesn't even know I exist."

"Bull," Sky said, with such certainty that Leo actually flinched. "I've seen how she looks at you in chem. You're just too busy being in your head about it to notice."

Leo rolled his eyes but didn't argue. The cafeteria had this whole social pyramid thing going on—jocks at one table, theater kids at another, the AP students forming their own exclusive cluster—and Leo usually floated somewhere in the ambiguous middle. Maya, with her effortless cool and vintage denim jackets, existed in a completely different stratosphere.

"You're overthinking it," Sky said, reading his mind again. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand, turning it over so his palm faced up. "Let me see."

"You're not actually doing palm reading, right? Because that's—"

"Humor me," she interrupted, tracing a line across his hand with her index finger. Her touch was surprisingly gentle. "You've got a good life line. Strong. And this..." Her finger brushed against his heart line. "This says you're due for a plot twist."

"Bull," Leo said, echoing her earlier sentiment.

"Maybe." Sky released his hand and smirked. "Or maybe you just need to talk to Maya instead of planning your entire future relationship in your head."

She stood up, grabbing her tray. "Also, she literally just watched your story again. Check your phone."

Leo's heart did this ridiculous flutter-thing as he unlocked his phone. Maya had indeed viewed his story—and she'd replied with a single flame emoji.

"Told you," Sky called over her shoulder as she walked away. "The universe doesn't palm you opportunities just to watch you drop them."