Signal Lost

Maya's iPhone was at 3% battery. The charging cable was somewhere in her backpack, buried under half-eaten granola bars and a hoodie that smelled like campfire smoke. She'd been at Camp Wabanaki for exactly three days, and she already missed civilization.

"Yo, Maya! You coming to the lake?" Tyler called from across the clearing. He was cute in that annoying way where he didn't even try.

"Maybe later!" she lied, frantically digging for her cable. If she didn't post that sunset pic from yesterday, her followers would think she fell off the face of the earth. Again.

Her fingers brushed against the braided cord. Yes. She plugged it in—nothing. The outlet by the mess hall was dead. Of course.

"You look like you're about to bear hug that outlet," a voice said. Maya jumped. It was Riley, the quiet girl from Cabin 4 who always wore those beat-up Converse and read paperback books during free time.

"My phone's dead," Maya admitted, feeling weirdly vulnerable. "I haven't posted anything in 72 hours. I'm basically a ghost."

Riley raised an eyebrow. "That's bad?"

Maya started to say yes, obviously, but then she paused. The past three days without constant notifications had been... weirdly peaceful. No FOMO. No comparing herself to perfect selfies. No doom-scrolling until 2 AM.

"I mean," Maya said slowly, "I did notice how pretty the stars are last night. Without, like, Instagram filters."

Riley smiled. "There's this spot behind the arts and crafts shed. You can see, like, three constellations. And there's an extension cord running back there from the generator shed if you really need to charge."

They walked over together. Maya plugged in her cable, watching the battery icon light up. But instead of immediately opening Instagram, she sat down next to Riley in the grass and looked up at the darkening sky.

"So," Riley said. "Which constellations can you actually name?"

"Um... the Big Dipper?" Maya guessed. They both laughed.

As the stars came out, Maya's phone sat forgotten beside her, charging quietly. For the first time all summer, she didn't feel the urge to capture everything. She was just... there. And honestly? It was kind of lit.