Static Charge at the Pyramid

Maya's vintage Doc Martens scuffed against the gym floor as the Spring Fling dj blasted another basic mumble rap track. She stood near the refreshments—basically just lukewarm punch and stale cookies—wondering why she'd let Sarah talk her into coming.

Then she saw him. Lucas, the soccer captain, standing by the **pyramid** of solo cups someone had constructed for beer pong. He was laughing with that varsity jacket crew, radiating main character energy. Maya's stomach did that nervous flip thing, like when your phone buzzes at 2 AM and you pray it's not a screenshot of your embarrassing Instagram story from 2019.

"You're staring again," whispered Sarah, appearing with two cups of questionable fruit punch. "Just go talk to him. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I could literally crash out," Maya muttered. "Have you SEEN his ex? She's got that villain origin story energy."

Sarah rolled her eyes so hard it practically registered on the Richter scale. "You're overthinking. Lucas is chill. Plus, his brother has that weird **cat** who only eats organic cat food. It's a whole vibe."

Before Maya could respond, the gym lights flickered. Outside, actual **lightning** cracked across the sky, illuminating the windows in this dramatic way that felt straight out of a coming-of-age movie. The power went out, plunging the dance into darkness.

Someone screamed. Then laughter. Flashlights from phones clicked on throughout the gym, creating these ghostly little spotlights.

"Great," Maya said sarcastically. "Now I'm trapped in the dark with my crush and zero game."

But then—Lucas. Standing right there. The flashlight on his phone caught his profile, making him look like those aesthetic TikTok edits that everyone simps over.

"Hey," he said. "You're Maya, right? From AP English?"

Her brain short-circuited. "Uh, yeah. That's me. Just vibing. In the dark. Very normal."

Lucas laughed, and it was this warm sound that made her chest feel weird. "My brother said you wrote that paper about Hemingway? Said it was absolute **bull** how the teacher gave you a B+."

Maya blinked. "Your brother... remembers my paper from two months ago?"

"Dude never shuts up about it," Lucas said, stepping closer. "Anyway, wanna get out of here? There's this spot on the football field under the lights where you can actually see stars. And I promise not to make it weird."

The power flickered back on. Music swelled. But Maya was already grabbing her jacket, heart racing like she'd just gotten a notification that her scholarship application got approved.

"Let's go," she said, and for the first time all night, she wasn't pretending.