Palm Reader's Proxy

Maya's palms were sweating. Literally dripping. Which was unfortunate because she was currently holding hands with Jake—the same Jake who'd sat three rows behind her in AP Bio since freshman year, the same Jake whose Instagram she'd been lowkey stalking for months.

"Your lifeline's broken," the fortune teller said, squinting at Maya's hand through heavily mascara'd eyes. "You've been betrayed."

Maya's heart did that thing where it forgot how to rhythm. betrayed. BY WHO. Her best friend Sienna had been acting weird all week—short texts, canceled plans, "busy" every time Maya wanted to hang. And now this psychic in a back alley at the spring festival was dropping truth bombs like she'd been hacked by Maya's anxiety.

Her iphone buzzed in her pocket. Probably Sienna finally responding to her three texts from yesterday.

"What about him?" Maya blurted, nodding at Jake, who was pretending not to listen while intensely studying a nearby funnel cake stand. "What's his future?"

The fortune teller laughed. "Him? He's got zombie energy. Dead inside. But in a cute way."

Jake's ears turned pink. Maya wanted to die. This was it. This was her villain origin story.

Later, she found herself sitting on a curb with Jake, sharing a plate of nachos they'd both pretending they weren't going to eat.

"So," Jake said. "Zombie energy, huh?"

Maya covered her face with her hands. "Please forget you heard that."

"Nah, it's growing on me." He nudged her shoulder. "Hey, can I tell you something?"

Maya's stomach did that flip thing again. "What?"

"I've been kinda acting like a zombie because I was trying to work up the courage to ask if you wanted to come to my band's show next weekend. But then you kept looking at your phone like you were waiting for something important, and I figured—"

"Wait." Maya pulled out her phone. Three missed texts from Sienna. CAN U COME OVER. SORRY IVE BEEN WEIRD. I LIKE HIM TOO AND I DIDNT KNOW HOW TO TELL U.

Maya stared at the screen. Then at Jake. Then back at the screen.

"Him who?" she asked.

Jake's face went full tomato. "This is embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than a psychic calling you dead inside?"

He laughed. "Fair point."

They sat there for a minute, the festival noise buzzing around them like electricity. Maya thought about how her palms were still sweaty, how her phone had caused so much overthinking, how she'd felt like a zombie all week from staying up late analyzing Sienna's emoji choices. But right now? She felt weirdly alive.

"So," she said. "Your band's show next weekend?"

Jake grinned. "You should come. Bring Sienna. Maybe she can get her palm read too."