Palm Readings & Vitamin Dreams

My palms were sweating so much I could've watered a plant. Classic.

"Dude, you good?" Marcus asked, already knowing I wasn't.

We were at Jessica's house party—the kind where everyone stands in awkward clusters pretending to have deep conversations about fake-deep stuff. I was clutching my vitamin water like it was a lifeline, which honestly, it kind of was. My mom still made me take those Flintstone gummy vitamins every morning. Don't judge.

"Your hands are shaking," Marcus pointed out.

"Shut up, Marcus."

That's when I saw HER. Riley Fox. Yeah, like the animal, but somehow she made it sound elegant. She was sitting by the sliding glass door with a deck of cards, doing palm readings for anyone desperate enough to believe a sophomore could predict their future.

I'd had a crush on her since seventh period English when she'd quoted The Odyssey from memory like it was nothing. Meanwhile, I was struggling to remember where I put my phone two seconds ago.

"You should go over there," Marcus said, grinning like he knew exactly how much I wanted to and exactly how much I wouldn't. "Your future awaits, bro."

"You go. Your future probably involves throwing up in Jessica's bathroom again."

Marcus threw a pretzel at me. I dodged like a boss, but then almost tripped over some TV cable someone had left in the middle of the floor. Smooth.

But Riley had seen me. She waved me over.

My heart did that thing where it forgets how to heart properly. I walked over, trying to look like a person who had functions.

"Hey," she said. "Want me to read your palm?"

"Sure," I said, like I hadn't been thinking about this moment for three weeks.

Her hands were soft and slightly cool against mine. She traced the lines on my palm like she was reading braille, like my skin was telling her stories I didn't know how to speak out loud.

"You're worried about something," she said quietly. "Something big."

I swallowed. "Maybe."

"Your life line's strong, though. You're gonna figure it out. Whatever it is."

For the first time all night, my palms stopped sweating.

"Thanks," I said.

"Anytime."

I walked back to Marcus feeling like maybe, just maybe, high school wasn't going to completely destroy me. And maybe those gummy vitamins were actually working.