The Cat Who Knew Everything
Maya pressed her phone against her chest like it held state secrets. In a way, it did. She'd been low-key spying on Kai's Instagram stories for twenty minutes, watching what used to be *their* friend group hang out without her. Again.
"You're being dramatic," said Luna, her calico cat, from the windowsill. Okay, Luna didn't actually speak, but the judgment in those yellow eyes was crystal clear. Luna hopped down and head-butted Maya's ankle.
"Whatever," Maya muttered. "You don't get it. Being excluded literally hits different when it's your own friends."
She'd been bearing this weight for weeks now—the awkward group chat silences, the canceled plans, the feeling that she'd become invisible somehow. Freshman year was supposed to be lit, not this endless exercise in feeling like the leftover nobody wanted.
Her phone buzzed. Kai.
*we need to talk. meet at the park?
Maya's stomach did that thing where it felt like it was tryna climb up her throat. She grabbed her hoodie and headed out, Luna watching with what looked suspiciously like sympathy.
The park was empty except for Kai, sitting on a swing. Maya's bear of a stepbrother, Devon, had dropped her off, eyeing Kai like a protective mama grizzly before driving away. Devon could be annoying, but sometimes his overbearing vibes came in clutch.
"Hey," Kai said, barely looking up.
"Hey."
Silence stretched between them like that weird pause when someone forgets the lyrics to a song everyone knows.
"So..." they started together, then stopped.
Kai laughed nervously. "You first."
Maya took a deep breath. "I feel like I'm being replaced. Like, I see you guys hanging without me and it hurts. A lot. I thought we were ride or die."
Kai's eyes widened. "Maya, no. That's not—" They pulled out their phone. "We've been planning your surprise birthday party for LITERAL WEEKS. The group chat's been muted so you wouldn't see the planning posts. We've been ignoring you on purpose and it felt terrible every single time."
Maya stood there, processing. "Wait. WHAT."
"Your birthday's Saturday. We were gonna surprise you at school." Kai bit their lip. "Please tell me I didn't just ruin everything."
Maya started laughing. Like, actually laughing so hard she had to sit down. "I've been spiraling for weeks thinking you secretly hated me."
"Hated you? Maya, you're literally my favorite person. Why do you think I always ask to copy your history notes?"
"Because you never do the reading?"
"That too."
Later that night, Maya spilled everything to Luna, who purred like she'd known all along. Some bears were overbearing, some friends were terrible at keeping secrets, and sometimes—just sometimes—things weren't as tragic as they seemed.
Her phone buzzed again. *Group chat: Birthday Squad (3 members)*
*mayas_bday_surprise: YOU IN OR WHAT*
Maya grinned, Luna curled against her side like a fuzzy, judgmental pillow.
*so in.*