Summer of Fox and Dog

Maya dragged herself through third period in full zombie mode. Three hours of Fortnite the night before — terrible decision, honestly, but Kai had been blowing up her Discord asking her to squad up. Now her brain felt like expired Jell-O.

"You look rough," said Skylar, sliding into the desk beside her with her signature messy bun barely holding on.

"Tell me something I don't know," Maya groaned.

The hallway buzzed with summer plans. Everyone was talking about padel — apparently it was the new pickleball, the sport that would define their season. Even Skylar's weird cousin was obsessed with it now.

That's when she saw him. Fox. Not his real name, obviously — that'd be embarrassing — but the nickname stuck after he pulled that prank on Mr. Henderson's science class last semester. Lean, sharp-grinned, unfairly confident. He was leaning against his orange locker like he owned the building.

Maya's stomach did that annoying flutter thing. She hated that her stomach still did flutter things.

"He's looking at you," Skylar whispered.

"He's not."

"He literally is."

Fox pushed off the locker, heading their way. Maya's heart rate betrayed her so hard. Be cool, she told herself. You are a being of immense chill.

"Hey," Fox said, all casual, like his presence didn't just make the hallway feel smaller. "My dog got loose again. You seen him?"

Maya's brain short-circuited. "Your... dog?"

"Yeah, the one from last week. He keeps chasing that actual fox by the creek. Full circle moment, honestly."

Skylar was losing it beside her, barely containing laughter.

"I haven't, um, seen your dog," Maya managed. "But I could help you look? After school?"

Fox's grin widened, and something in Maya's chest caught.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, that'd be solid."

The bell rang. Maya watched him walk away, feeling suddenly and terrifyingly awake.

"You're welcome," Skylar mouthed.

And Maya realized, with dawning horror and something that felt exactly like hope, that she wasn't in zombie mode anymore. Not even close.