The Cat Network Knows

Maya's cat Comet sat on her windowsill, tail twitching with what looked suspiciously like judgment. The neighborhood cats were having another one of their midnight meetings, and Comet was missing it.

"Go," Maya whispered. "Tell me everything."

Comet darted out the window. Because that was the thing about Maya's life — she was basically a spy, but not the cool kind with gadgets and martinis. No, her intelligence network was entirely feline.

Her target: Sammy. The one with the amber eyes and perfect laugh who sat three rows ahead in homeroom. Maya had been crushing on him since September, which was honestly embarrassing at this point. She knew his schedule by heart. She knew which vending machine he preferred. She knew he liked vanilla over chocolate. Thanks to Comet and the neighborhood cat grapevine, she even knew he had a calico named Mochi who liked to sunbathe on his driveway.

It wasn't creepy. It was strategic.

Tonight was different though. Tonight was Jordan's Halloween party, and Maya was actually going. Social anxiety had been her constant companion since sixth grade, but she was trying this new thing where she did things that terrified her. Growth, or whatever.

Her palms were already sweating just thinking about it.

At the party, the lights were low and someone had put up decorations that were trying too hard. Maya hovered near the snack table, clutching a red Solo cup like it was a life raft. And then she saw him.

Sammy was standing near the doorway, wearing an improbable sphinx costume complete with cardboard wings and gold face paint. He looked ridiculous. He looked perfect.

Before Maya could overthink it, her feet were moving.

"Nice wings," she said, then wanted to immediately dissolve into the floor.

Sammy turned, and his face lit up. "Maya? You came!"

He knew her name. He knew her NAME.

"Yeah," she managed. "Cool costume."

"Thanks! It's supposed to be ironic." He stepped closer, and there it was — the scent of him, vanilla and something warm. "I read somewhere that the sphinx had all the answers. Want me to tell your future?"

He was grinning. This was flirting. This was ACTUAL flirting.

"Sure," Maya said, and offered her hand, palm up, trying desperately to ignore that her hand was literally shaking.

Sammy took it gently, his fingers tracing the lines of her palm. "Let's see..." He pretended to study it seriously. "You're going to have someone ask for your number in approximately thirty seconds."

Maya laughed, surprised and genuine. "Oh really?"

"Really." His eyes found hers, gold-painted around the edges, warm everywhere else. "So, Maya... can I have your number?"

Outside, a cat meowed. Comet, probably. Reporting back: mission accomplished.

"Yes," Maya said, and for the first time in forever, she wasn't spying anymore. She was just a girl at a party, holding hands with a boy in a sphinx costume, and she was absolutely, catastrophically happy.