Palm Read Gone Wrong

The sunset blazed behind the palm trees at Maya's end-of-summer party, casting everything in that perfect golden hour Instagram-filter light. I stood near the snack table, nursing a lukewarm soda, watching River—aka the Fox, because she could slither out of any situation—work the crowd like a pro.

"You're doing that thing again," my best friend Kai whispered, elbowing me. "The standing-in-the-corner-being-awkward thing. At your OWN party."

"I'm not being awkward," I protested. "I'm... observing."

"You're sweating," Kai pointed out. "Your palms are literally sweating."

Before I could defend my social anxiety, River appeared, her fox-orange hair perfectly messy. "OMG, you're the palm reader, right? Chelsea said you could tell my future!"

I froze. Chelsea had told everyone I could read palms because I'd once guessed her crush based on her emoji usage. Total bull. But now I was backed into a corner.

"Uh, sure?" I said, wiping my sweaty palms on my shorts.

River thrust her hand forward, face expectant. Everyone nearby stopped talking. The pressure was real.

"Okay, um..." I studied her palm like it held actual answers. "You're going to... " I spotted a tiny scar near her thumb. "You're gonna have to confront someone soon. Someone you thought was cool but actually isn't."

River's eyes widened. "No way."

I was just making stuff up, but something in her expression made me keep going. "And..." I traced what I pretended was a heart line. "You'll meet someone unexpected. Someone who's been there all along but you never really saw."

The party went silent. River's cheeks flushed. Then she turned toward Kai, who'd been standing there awkwardly the whole time.

"You mean like..." River started.

"Like I've had a crush on you since literally September," Kai blurted out, then slapped a hand over their mouth. "Oops. That wasn't the plan."

River stared. Then she laughed. "You're the unexpected person. That's so weird." She smiled. "But also... kind of perfect?"

My palm reading had been completely fake, but sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways. As River and Kai wandered off toward the palm trees, Chelsea appeared beside me.

"You're actually good at this," she said, impressed.

"Total luck," I admitted, finally feeling myself relax. "But maybe don't tell anyone that part."