Screens & Scratches

Maya's thumb hovered over the post button, her heart doing that weird fluttery thing it always did before she shared something. The photo was perfect—her and Chloe at the party, both looking effortlessly aesthetic, the golden hour lighting hitting just right. But something felt off.

"You gonna post that or what?" Chloe asked, not looking up from her own phone. She'd already posted like five stories from the same party. #bestienight #unforgettable

"Yeah, just... fixing something," Maya mumbled, even though she wasn't.

Her cat, Luna, jumped onto her desk and knocked over her vitamin gummies. The bottle rolled across her notes—Maya was terrible at remembering to take them, something her mom constantly stressed about. "You're literally always tired, it's probably a deficiency," she'd say, shoving wellness articles at her.

Luna purred loudly, demanding attention. Maya scratched behind her ears, the familiar rhythm calming her racing thoughts. Outside, Mr. Henderson's dog started barking at something—probably a squirrel again. The sound always made her smile, even through her closed window.

"Whatever," Chloe said, finally glancing up. "My phone's at 12% anyway. We should head to Jake's."

Maya looked at her iPhone again. At the photo. At how Chloe was looking at the camera while Maya was caught mid-laugh, unposed, actually happy. Not the kind of happy that looked good on Instagram, but the messy, genuine kind that didn't need validation.

"Actually," Maya said, her voice steadier than she felt, "I think I'm gonna stay in tonight."

Chloe looked genuinely confused. "But it's the weekend. And Jake's having people over—"

"I know. I just... I need a break, you know?"

Chloe shrugged, already scrolling through her feed. "Suit yourself."

After she left, Maya deleted the draft. Luna headbutted her hand, demanding more scratches. Maya took a vitamin gummy finally—parental validation achieved—and opened her window. The evening air was cool, carried sounds of the neighborhood. Mr. Henderson's dog was still going at it.

She grabbed her phone, opened the camera, and snapped a photo of nothing special—just Luna stretching in the sunset light, messy and uncurated. No filters, no aesthetic planning, no overthinking.

She posted it with one caption: "vibes."

And then she turned off her phone and just existed for a while. It felt weirdly good.