Storm Warning

Maya gripped her iPhone until her knuckles turned white, refreshing Instagram for the third time in sixty seconds. The pool party pics from earlier already had 47 likes, but that wasn't why she kept checking. She was waiting for HIM to reply.

"You're spiraling," said Keisha, plopping down beside her and offering a slice of papaya. "Try this. It's literally fire."

Maya took the fruit reluctantly. "It's been two hours, Keisha. TWO. Since I sent that text."

"Oh my god, you're being extra. He's probably at padel practice or something." Keisha rolled her eyes so hard Maya worried they might get stuck. "Some guys suck at texting. Doesn't mean he's not interested."

Maya's stomach did that annoying flip-flop thing it always did when she thought about Lucas. The new guy from Spain who'd moved to their school three weeks ago and made freshman geometry feel like the most important class on Earth. She'd finally worked up the nerve to DM him earlier, something casual about homework that had taken her twenty minutes to craft.

Outside, the sky had turned that weird greenish color that meant trouble. Thunder rumbled in the distance like someone moving furniture upstairs.

"Pool's closing," announced someone's dad. "Storm's coming in fast."

Everyone scrambled out of the water, towels and chatter flying everywhere. Maya stayed put on the lounge chair, papaya forgotten in her hand. Her phone buzzed.

Her heart stopped.

Not from him. Just a weather alert. FLASH FLOOD WARNING.

"Maya, MOVE!" Keisha grabbed her arm as the first heavy drops splatted down like they were angry.

Then it happened—LIGHTNING cracked the sky directly overhead, so bright everything went white, so loud the ground shook. The whole pool area screamed and scattered toward the house. And in that chaos, Maya's phone slipped from her grip and bounced toward the deep end.

"NO!" She lunged for it, but Keisha yanked her back. "Are you crazy? That's basically death, Maya. Let it go."

They scrambled inside, soaked and breathless. Through the sliding glass doors, Maya watched her iPhone resting dangerously close to the pool edge as rain pounded down around it.

Then Lucas appeared out of nowhere, sprinting across the deck, dodging puddles, and snatching her phone just as wind threatened to send it into the water. He spotted her through the glass, waved the phone like he'd won the lottery, and—

Her phone lit up in his hand. A notification visible from across the yard.

He read it. Looked up. Grinned.

"She likes me," he mouthed through the glass.

The entire room erupted. Maya covered her face with her hands, dying of embarrassment, but somehow, she was laughing too. Outside, the storm raged. Inside, everything had changed.