The Cable That Saved Me

I was a total zombie by third period. Again.

My iPhone had done me dirty—kept me up until 3 AM doomscrolling through Tyler's Instagram from 2019. (We've all been there. Don't judge.) I was basically a professional social media spy at this point, having stalked every one of his posts, stories, and even his friends' tagged photos. Pathetic? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely not, but tell that to my thumping heart and inexplicably sweaty palms whenever he walked past my locker.

"You look like death," Jordan whispered, sliding into the seat next to me in chem. "Rough night?"

"Rough life," I groaned, dropping my head onto the desk. "I think my phone is trying to murder me."

"Drama queen."

"I'm serious. I'm trapped in this toxic cycle where I stay up spying on people who are living their best lives while I'm just existing in the background of my own existence." I lifted my head slightly. "That's deep, right? You should write that down."

Jordan rolled their eyes. "You need to delete that app. Or at least set a bedtime. You're literally becoming a zombie. Like, actual Walking Dead extra energy."

The bell rang. I reached for my phone to check—reflexively, compulsively—and my stomach dropped.

My charging cable had frayed through completely. A tiny spark, a hiss of dying electronics, and my lifeline was severed.

"NO!" I whisper-shrieked, cradling my phone like a wounded bird. "This can't be happening. I'm at 12%!"

"That's the universe telling you to get a life," Jordan said, but they were already pulling a spare cable from their backpack. "Here. Use mine. But I'm only enabling this because you're my best friend and I love you. Also, because you're scary when you're undercaffeinated."

Jordan's cable was hot pink and bedazzled with tiny flowers. I loved them so much.

I plugged in my phone and it immediately dinged with a notification. Instagram: Tyler Martinez started following you.

I almost dropped the phone.

"Wait," I breathed, staring at the screen. "He was spying on ME too?"

Jordan leaned over. "Or he just thinks you're cool and finally noticed you exist beyond accidentally making eye contact that one time in the hallway."

"That was TWO times."

"Whatever." Jordan grinned. "Ask him to the winter formal."

"I can't just—"

"Yes, you can. DM him. Right now. While you're caffeinated and slightly delirious from sleep deprivation. Perfect timing."

So I did. And he said yes.

But here's the thing—I wouldn't have had the courage if my stupid cable hadn't broken, forcing me to rely on Jordan's ridiculous hot pink one, and then Tyler hadn't followed me at that exact moment, and—

Okay, universe. I see you. Sometimes being a zombie leads to exactly where you need to be.