Storm Season Static

Maya's third attempt at gaming livestreaming was going about as well as her first two attempts — which was to say, not at all. The ethernet cable stretched across her bedroom floor like a tripwire of anxiety, and her chat consisted entirely of her best friend Kiara and some random bot named xX_GamerKing_Xx who kept typing 'cringe.'

Then her cat, Potato, decided that particular moment was the perfect time to chase a moth directly into Maya's open water glass. The ensuing chaos sent water flying everywhere — mostly onto Maya's brand-new orange mechanical keyboard that she'd saved up for literally forever.

'Potato, NO!' Maya shrieked, but it was too late. The keyboard sputtered and died, taking her stream with it.

Outside, lightning flashed so bright it painted her entire room in stark white, illuminating the disaster zone. Thunder shook the window frame. Her phone buzzed — Kiara.

'u okay?? that was iconic actually lol'

Maya stared at the dead keyboard, at Potato looking unbothered while grooming himself on her bed, at the abandoned chat on her screen. Something in her chest untwisted. She'd been so worried about being perfect, about sounding cool, about not embarrassing herself in front of an audience of basically no one.

She grabbed her phone and hit record instead.

'Yo,' she said to the camera, hair frizzy from the summer humidity, keyboard still dripping water onto her desk. 'So my cat just murdered my setup and I'm literally done. But we're not gonna let that ruin the vibe.' She dragged her old chair closer to the window, where the lightning show was getting even better. 'Who needs games when nature's putting on a whole concert anyway?'

By midnight, her impromptu storm-watch stream had three hundred viewers. Potato sat curled in her lap, purring loud enough for the microphone to pick up. The orange keyboard was a total loss, but Maya was pretty sure she'd just found something way better than her original plan.