Palm Springs, Palm Reads

Maya stared at her **hair** in the bathroom mirror. It was doing that thing where it refused to commit—half frizzy, half flat, like it couldn't decide between two personality types. Kind of like her actual life.

"You're not wearing that **hat** to the party," her mom called from the hallway. "It's ninety degrees out."

"It's a vibe, Mom. You wouldn't understand."

Maya plopped the bucket hat on her head anyway. It was her armor—her I'm-not-trying-too-hard-but-actually-trying-hard shield. Since her ex-best-friend-group had collectively decided she was "cringe" three weeks ago, she'd been rebooting her personality like a glitchy app.

The party was at Chloe's house, which meant pool, awkward tension, and people pretending to be having the time of their lives. Maya stood by the snack table, clutching a sparkling water like it was her only lifeline.

"Hey."

Maya jumped. It was Leo—the guy who sat behind her in history and drew elaborate doodles in the margins of his notes. He was wearing a shirt with a flamingo holding a cocktail.

"I like your **hat**," he said. "Very mysterious."

She laughed, surprised. "Thanks. It's hiding a bad hair day."

"Same. Mine's hiding a bad haircut day."

They stood there for a moment, and it wasn't weird. That was the weird part.

"My mom says I need to go outside more," Maya said. "She bought me these **vitamin** D gummies and said I'm deficient in sunshine or whatever."

"I take those too," Leo admitted. "They taste like artificial fruit and parental concern."

Someone screamed near the pool. A girl with mermaid-temp-dyed hair was gesturing dramatically. "Omg, she's doing **palm** readings! She told Jenny she's gonna meet her soulmate at a Dave & Buster's!"

Maya and Leo exchanged a look. That was their cue in ten different languages.

"Wanna get your future told?" Leo asked. "I need to know if I'll ever pass algebra."

"Let's do it."

The so-called palm reader was just Sophie from biology, holding a flashlight app under her chin like she was telling ghost stories. She grabbed Maya's hand, traced a line across her **palm**, and nodded solemnly.

"You're going through..." Sophie squinted dramatically. "A thing. A big thing. But it's gonna be okay."

Maya felt something in her chest loosen. That was vague enough to be useful.

"What about me?" Leo asked, holding out his hand.

"You're gonna meet someone," Sophie said. "Soon. And you're gonna think it's random, but it's not."

The sun set over the pool, turning everything soft and golden. Maya took off her hat, letting her hair frizz however it wanted. She looked at Leo, who was already looking at her.

"Wanna get food?" he asked. "There's a taco truck down the street."

Maya smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Sometimes the universe didn't give you answers. Sometimes it just gave you a taco truck, a flawed but cute person, and a palm reading that said everything and nothing at all. And honestly? That was enough.