Storm Light Summer

Maya's mom had packed her bag like she was heading to war, stuffing it with emergency supplies and probably an embarrassing amount of sunscreen. "Take your vitamin every morning," she'd insisted, pressing the orange bottle into Maya's hand. "And drink plenty of water."

"Mom, I'm literally going to camp, not Mars," Maya had groaned, but now, three days into the wilderness retreat, she was grateful. Especially for the water bottle.

The camp situation was awkward enough without being dehydrated. Maya had somehow ended up in the same cabin as Jordan—the Jordan with the perfect hair and the kind of smile that made her forget basic English. Her friends kept telling her to shoot her shot, but Maya was pretty sure her rizz was nonexistent.

"Hey," Jordan said, dropping onto the log beside her during the campfire. "Your phone okay? My charging cable is basically dead."

Maya's heart did that annoying fluttery thing. "Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Just wondering." Jordan's phone buzzed. "Ugh, my friends keep blowing up my phone about some drama. Lowkey wish I could just disappear for a week."

"Same," Maya said, because same.

The next day's hike was supposed to be chill—just a short trail to a waterfall. But Maya's group somehow took a wrong turn, and suddenly they were staring at a fresh bear track in the mud.

"Okay, that's literally not cool," whispered Kai, whose tough-guy persona was crumbling fast.

Their counselor, Sam, immediately herded them together. "Stay calm. Bears want to avoid us more than we want to avoid them."

Maya's hand found Jordan's, and Jordan squeezed back. They stood there, hearts pounding, until Sam gave the all-clear. The bear had moved on.

"That was wild," Jordan said later, sitting beside Maya on the bus ride back. "But honestly? Kind of glad it happened."

"How is that a glad thing?"

Jordan shrugged, their knee touching Maya's. "Because I got to hold your hand."

Maya's face burned so hot she thought she might literally explode. "Oh."

"Yeah." Jordan grinned. "Also, you dropped your vitamin bottle back there. I grabbed it."

They laughed together as lightning crackled across the summer sky, the storm finally breaking the humidity. Sometimes the worst moments led to the best ones. And Maya's mom was right about the water—she was definitely going to need some after this.