Signal Lost in the Storm
Maya's fingers hovered over her iPhone screen, sweat prickling her forehead. Three unread messages from him. Three chances to say something cool, something mysterious, something that wouldn't make her seem like the desperate freshman she totally was.
Outside, thunder rattled her bedroom window like it was trying to break in. Another summer storm in the mountains.
"Maya! Bear's barking at something again!" her mom yelled from downstairs.
Bear — their massive, drooly German Shepherd mix who thought he was a lapdog. Maya sighed, grabbing her phone. Bear only barked like that when it stormed. He'd been her actual best friend since fifth grade, back when she still believed friendship bracelets meant forever and not just awkward leftovers from people who grew away from each other.
Lightning flashed, painting her room ghost-white for a heartbeat. Her phone screen went black.
No. No no no.
She pressed the power button. Nothing. Then the apple logo appeared, then nothing. The storm must have killed the WiFi router again, and her phone had been searching for signal until it died.
Maya stared at her reflection in the dark glass. No phone. No connection. No way to see if he'd replied. No way to know if her friends were posting stories she wasn't part of. No way to exist.
Bear pushed open her door, whining, and jumped onto her bed like he owned it. His wet nose nudged her hand.
"You too, buddy?" she whispered, scratching behind his ears.
Her phone suddenly buzzed once, startlingly loud in the quiet. A single text from her group chat:
"Storm knocked out power. My basement is flooding. All hands on deck."
Maya stared at the screen. No emojis. No aesthetic photos of rain against windows. No carefully curated vulnerability.
Her fingers moved before she could think about it too hard. "I'll come help."
Bear woofed softly, like he approved.
Rain soaked through Maya's hoodie in thirty seconds flat. Bear bounded ahead, actually excited for the chaos. When she reached Chloe's house, three other girls were already there, hair plastered to their faces, laughing hysterically as they tried to sandbag the back door.
"You came!" Chloe shouted over the thunder. "I figured everyone would stay home and scroll through social media instead."
Maya looked down at her useless phone. "Something like that."
They worked until midnight, wet and shivering, passing around warm soda that someone's mom brought out. Bear ran circles around them, convinced this was the best game ever.
When the power finally flickered back on, no one immediately reached for their phones.
"This was actually kinda fun," Chloe said, pushing hair out of her eyes. "In a terrible way."
Maya's phone buzzed in her pocket. Him again. But she didn't check it.
"Yeah," she said, and meant it. "Actually kind of bearable."