Screen Dead at the Party

Maya's iphone died at the worst possible moment — right as Tyler from lacrosse finally slid into the booth next to her at Chloe's party. The black screen reflected her panic. No backup charger, no cable, no chance to capture this.

"You good?" Tyler asked, flashing that grin that made half the sophomore class lose their minds.

"Yeah, just... battery dead. Classic." Maya cringed at how high her voice came out.

She'd spent two hours straightening her hair for this. First real party of freshman year, first time Tyler had acknowledged her existence since they'd been lab partners, and now she was that girl glued to the wall, phone dead like some social zombie.

Outside, kids were already in the pool, bodies silhouetted against the patio lights. Swimming in October? Bold move. Maya watched through the sliding door as someone did a cannonball, water arcing up like liquid silver. She wanted to be out there, not stuck feeling awkward and disconnected.

"I might have a cable in my car," Tyler said. "If you wanna charge it?"

Her heart did this little flip thing that felt embarrassingly cliché.

They walked to his car in this silence that wasn't totally terrible. The night air smelled like chlorine and pine needles. Tyler fumbled through his glove compartment, finally producing a tangled white cable.

"Here. It's kinda frayed but it works."

Their fingers brushed when he handed it over. Maya's pulse was suddenly in her throat.

Back inside, she plugged in her phone behind a potted plant while Tyler got them both sodas. When her screen finally lit up, she had five texts from her best friend Liv: *TELL ME EVERYTHING* *IS HE STILL WITH YOU* *OMG MAYA*

She typed back: *He lent me his charging cable. I think this is the best moment of my life.*

Then deleted it. Too much. Replaced with: *Hanging out. It's actually nice.*

Tyler slid back into the booth, soda in hand. "So, you ever gonna tell me what you're actually like, or are we doing the awkward small talk thing all night?"

Maya laughed. For real this time. The kind where your guard comes down without you meaning for it to.

"I'm terrible at swimming but I pretend I'm not," she admitted. "I make my mom take photos of my outfits before I leave the house. And I've been freaking out about talking to you since September."

"September?" Tyler raised an eyebrow. "I've been trying to talk to you since September. You just always look like you're in a rush."

Maya's phone buzzed on the cable. Liv again. But she let it wait.

"Wanna get out of here?" she heard herself say. "There's this spot by the reservoir. No swimming required."