The Cat Who Caught Me Spying

The humidity in Maya's neighborhood was hitting different tonight. She adjusted her strapless top for the fiftieth time, checking her reflection in the sliding glass door. Why did she agree to come to this party again?

Oh right. Because Tyler was going to be here.

The pool deck was already packed — seniors from Wilson High, some college kids, people she vaguely recognized from TikTok. Someone's Bluetooth speaker was blasting that song that had been stuck in everyone's head for weeks. Maya grabbed a sparkling water from the cooler and tried to look like she belonged.

"Hey!" Chloe appeared beside her, smelling like coconut everything. "You made it!"

"Yeah," Maya managed. "Figured I'd stop by."

"You should get your palm read," Chloe pointed toward the corner where someone had set up folding table. "My friend Jenna does readings. She's actually scary accurate."

Maya glanced over. A girl with half her head shaved blue was studying someone's hand with exaggerated intensity. The whole thing seemed kind of cringe, but...

"Maybe later," she said noncommittally.

She wound her way through the crowd, saying hi to people she barely knew, dodging drunk seniors who were definitely not twenty-one. The pool water rippled blue under the string lights, and for a second she almost felt cool. Almost.

Then she saw him.

Tyler. Standing by the deep end, laughing at something some girl in a bikini was saying. Of course he looked perfect. Of course he was already talking to someone else.

Maya turned away quickly, suddenly feeling stupid for coming. She should just go—

A movement caught her eye. Behind the lounge chairs, near the tall palm tree that cast long shadows across the deck, someone was crouched. Phone raised. Recording.

What the...

Maya squinted. The angle — it was pointed straight at the pool. At the girls in bikinis. At her friend Chloe, who'd just jumped in with a splash.

Her stomach dropped. This wasn't just some kid filming TikToks.

She started toward the figure, but then something fluffy darted past her legs. Mrs. Gable's cat — that orange tabby that roamed the neighborhood like it owned the place.

The cat froze, staring directly at the person behind the palm tree. Then it let out the most unholy yowl.

"What the—" The crouching figure jerked, phone tumbling from their grip. It hit the concrete with a crack.

Every head turned.

"Yo, who's over there?" Tyler's voice cut through the music.

The person bolted — someone Maya didn't even recognize, maybe from a different school. They scrambled over the fence and disappeared into the darkness beyond.

"Wait!" someone else shouted. A group of guys took off after them.

The orange cat sat calmly by the fallen phone, washing its paw like nothing had happened.

"Did you see that?" Chloe pulled herself out of the pool, dripping water everywhere. "That creep was filming us!"

Maya nodded, her heart still pounding. "That cat literally just exposed them."

"Mrs. Gable's cat?" Tyler walked over, looking impressed. "Dude. That cat's a legend."

He bent down and picked up the cracked phone with a napkin. "Should we check what they recorded?"

"NO," three girls said simultaneously.

"Right," Tyler quickly handed it to someone's mom. "Police can handle that."

The mood shifted fast — from party vibe to everyone processing what almost happened. Maya found herself standing next to Tyler, their shoulders accidentally touching.

"That was actually really brave," he said quietly. "You were about to confront them before the cat did its thing."

Maya felt her face get hot. "I mean, someone had to do something."

"Yeah." He looked at her with actual interest. "I'm Tyler, by the way."

"Maya," she said, trying to play it cool. "I know. We have English together."

"No way," he laughed. "I'm terrible at names. Sorry."

The orange cat wound through Maya's legs, purring like a motor. She reached down and scratched behind its ears.

"You're basically a spy cat now," she told it. "That's your brand."

The cat blinked at her like: *obviously.*

"So," Tyler said, and was he blushing? "You want to get out of here? This whole thing feels kind of weird now."

Maya glanced around at the disrupted party, the parents calling people, the buzz of worried conversation. Then she looked at Tyler, who was actually looking at her like she was a person worth talking to.

"Yeah," she said. "I'd like that."

As they walked toward the gate, the cat followed them to the edge of the property and sat down like a tiny, furry bouncer. Maya smiled.

Tonight hadn't gone how she expected. Not even close.

But somehow? It was better.