Palm Secrets and Summer Lightning

Maya's sweaty palm pressed against the bathroom stall door as she debated whether to rejoin the party. The bass from the living room vibrated through the floorboards, making her stomach do flip-flops. This was supposed to be the summer before freshman year—the summer where everything changed. So far, the only thing that had changed was her outfit three times and her confidence level dropping to negative ten.

"You spying on someone or just hiding?" Maya jumped as Chloe slid under the stall door, landing cross-legged on the tile floor. Her best friend's orange hair, freshly dyed with drugstore box color that was supposed to be sunset copper, matched the half-empty orange soda bottle she'd brought as her contribution to the party.

"I'm not hiding," Maya lied, checking her phone for the tenth time. No messages from him. "I'm strategically positioning myself."

Chloe snorted. "You've been in here since Sarah said hi to Jordan. That's twenty minutes of strategic positioning, bestie." She took a swig of her warm soda. "Look, Jordan's been your crush since seventh grade. Either talk to him or accept that you're gonna graduate still wondering 'what if.'"

Maya's heart did that stupid thing where it felt like lightning struck her chest. "I can't just—what would I even say? 'Hey Jordan, remember when we had science together and you let me borrow your pen? Good times, let's make out now?'"

"That's terrible," Chloe said approvingly. "But at least it's something."

The bathroom door swung open, and suddenly Jordan was there, his hair damp from pool water, holding an empty bag of Doritos. He froze. Both girls froze. For three seconds, nobody moved.

"Hey," Jordan said, finally looking at Maya. "I was looking for you."

"Me?" Maya's voice squeaked.

"Yeah. Sarah said you were hiding out here." He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it standing up in awkward spikes. "I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out sometime? Outside of Sarah's basement?"

The feeling that hit Maya wasn't lightning anymore—it was something warmer, something that made her knees feel like jelly and her palms feel less sweaty and more electric. "Like... hang out hang out?"

"Yeah," Jordan smiled, and it was genuine and awkward and perfect. "Unless you're too busy being a bathroom spy."

Chloe mouthed 'I TOLD YOU SO' from the floor, grinning like she'd just won the lottery.

Maya took a breath and stepped out of the stall. "I'm done spying," she said, and for the first time all night, her smile was real. "Let's go back out there."