Storm Chaser's Summer

Maya pulled her baseball hat down lower, hoping nobody would notice the inches of roots she'd been meaning to dye for weeks. Summer meant pool parties at Jake's house, and pool parties meant swimsuits and social anxiety and Jake himself, who'd been her crush since seventh grade.

Her iPhone buzzed in her pocket—probably her group chat blowing up about who was coming. She almost checked it, but then remembered: she'd left it on the kitchen counter at home. Her cat, Luna, had been batting at it earlier, and now she was phone-less at the biggest party of the year.

"Hey!" Jake waved from the pool's edge. "You made it."

Maya's stomach did that thing—like lightning striking somewhere deep inside her. "Yeah," she managed. "Forgot my phone though, so... lowkey panicking."

Jake laughed. "Honestly? That's kind of awesome. No one's actually talking anymore. Everyone's just... documenting." He gestured at the cluster of kids around the pool, all phones out, capturing moments instead of living them.

The afternoon unfolded weirdly well. Without her phone, Maya actually talked to people. Like, really talked. She and Jake spent twenty minutes debating whether pools were actually gross (conclusion: yes, but also yes). She forgot about her hat. She forgot about her roots.

Then the sky turned that weird purple-green, and thunder rumbled like the sky was clearing its throat.

"Everyone inside!" Jake's mom called from the back door. "Storm's coming in fast!"

They scrambled toward the house, but Maya stopped. Something small and orange was frozen by the pool fence—Luna.

"Is that..." Jake started.

"Oh my god, my CAT followed me here?" Maya sprinted toward Luna just as lightning split the sky overhead, illuminating everything in a flash of white. Luna bolted.

So now Maya was chasing her cat through a thunderstorm, baseball hat flying off, hair everywhere, while the hottest guy in tenth grade watched.

She caught Luna by the old oak tree, breathless and soaked. Jake ran over with a towel, grinning like crazy.

"That," he said, "was literally the most badass thing I've ever seen."

Maya's hair was a disaster. Her hat was MIA. Her phone was still at home. But as lightning flashed again, she caught Jake's smile and thought: maybe this summer wouldn't be so bad after all.