Pocket Full of Sunshine

Chloe's been running - literally running - through the hallways since third period, dodging texts like they're incoming missiles. Her iPhone buzzes again in her pocket, a third vibration in as many minutes, but she ignores it. She's good at ignoring things these days.

"You're avoiding her," says Zara, appearing beside her at the lockers like she's been summoned. "Again."

"I'm not avoiding anyone," Chloe lies, even though she absolutely is. Since the party Saturday - since what happened with Jordan - she's been ghosting her entire friend group.

Zara raises one perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Your phone says otherwise. You haven't replied to the group chat in four days. That's, like, a record for you."

Chloe shrugs. "I've been busy."

"Doing what?"

"Stuff." Chloe reaches into her backpack and fumbles for the bottle of gummy vitamins she snagged from her mom's cabinet that morning. It's become her nervous habit - shoving vitamin-shaped gummies into her mouth whenever she feels like crawling out of her skin. "You want one? They're peach mango."

Zara studies her for a long moment. "You know those're for kids, right? Like, actual children?"

"They're good," Chloe says defensively. "And they're vitamins. Technically healthy."

"You've had, like, fifteen since lunch." Zara leans against the locker next to hers. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Chloe's phone buzzes again, and she can see the screen light up in her pocket. Jordan's name, probably. Or worse - multiple names. The group chat going off without her.

"Whatever happened Saturday." Zara's voice drops. "Jordan's been blowing up my phone asking if I've heard from you. She thinks you're mad at her."

Chloe laughs bitterly. "She thinks I'M mad at HER?"

"That's what it sounds like from her side." Zara tilts her head. "What happened, Chlo?"

Chloe looks down at her vitamin bottle. The little cartoon gummies smile back at her, ridiculous and cheerful and completely wrong for this moment. "She posted it. On her story. Like it was funny."

"Posted what?" Zara pulls out her own iPhone, scrolls for a second, and then goes still. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Chloe's voice shakes. "She recorded me crying and put it on her story with laughing emojis. Called it 'emotional damage' like it's a joke."

Zara looks up from her phone, horrified. "That's - that's not okay. That's actually not okay at all."

"Right?" Chloe throws her hands up. "But now everyone's acting like I'm the problem for not being over it. Like I'm being dramatic for not wanting to hang out with someone who thinks my lowest moment is content."

"She's not texting you to apologize?"

"She's texting to ask why I'm being weird." Chloe mimics Jordan's voice, high and sweet. "Like, 'Chloe, why are you being like this? We're all supposed to go to the movies on Friday, are you coming or what?'"

Zara's quiet for a moment. Then: "You know those vitamins you're eating?"

"What about them?"

"They're not actual vitamins." Zara pulls the bottle from her hand and reads the label. "These're candy. Like, straight-up candy with zero nutritional value. Your mom's just trying to get you to eat less actual candy."

Chloe blinks. "What?"

"I'm saying" - Zara hands them back - "you've been punishing yourself all week thinking you're doing something healthy, but you've been eating candy the whole time. And you've been ghosting everyone thinking you're protecting yourself, but you're just letting Jordan control the narrative without you there to tell your side."

Chloe stares at her. "When did you get so wise?"

"I read things," Zara says modestly. "Also, my therapist says avoidance is just fear wearing track pants."

"That's - actually really good."

"Right?" Zara gestures toward Chloe's pocket. "So. You gonna keep running, or you gonna face it?"

Chloe looks at her phone, then back at Zara. Her hand shakes a little as she pulls it out, but she unlocks it and opens the group chat. Twenty unread messages. Jordan's voice in all of them, pretending nothing happened, acting entitled to Chloe's presence like always.

Chloe's fingers hover over the keyboard. Then she starts typing.

"You're gonna tell her off?" Zara asks, leaning in.

"Better." Chloe hits send, then holds up her screen. "I'm posting my own story."

The photo of Chloe's vitamin bottle is captioned: When you realize you've been eating candy all week and calling it self-care. Also, some people think posting you at your worst is funny. It's not. We're done here.

"Direct," Zara approves. "Very on-brand."

Chloe's phone starts buzzing almost immediately. But this time, she doesn't run.