The Night Fox Flash

Maya's mom had started leaving those gummy **vitamin** packs on her nightstand—like, daily. As if citrus-flavored bears could fix freshman year self-esteem. Maya grabbed the bottle and shoved them in her backpack anyway, because that's what you do when your mom's going through her "wellness journey" phase and you're just trying to survive AP Bio without hyperventilating.

The party at Sarah's house was supposed to be lowkey, but obviously it wasn't. Tyler was there, looking annoyingly good in that way that makes you forget how to form sentences. Maya hid behind a red solo cup, performing mental gymnastics to avoid eye contact while pretending to be deeply interested in someone's story about their cousin's internship.

Then the power went out.

One crack of **lightning** later, and the whole house went pitch black. Someone screamed—dramatically—and Maya's phone flashlight cut through the darkness. Everyone froze.

"Did you see that?" Sarah whispered, pointing toward the backyard.

Maya aimed her light outside. A real, actual **fox** stood on the patio, staring back at them with these weirdly intelligent eyes. It looked more curious than scared, like it was judging their suburban chaos.

"Yo, that fox is living its best life," someone said, and suddenly everyone was laughing.

Tyler ended up sitting next to her on the back porch, watching the fox and the storm-lightning show. They talked about everything and nothing—how both their parents were going through weird phases, how high school felt like performance art, how neither of them actually liked parties.

"I hate these gummy vitamins," Maya confessed, pulling the bottle from her backpack. "My mom thinks they'll cure my social awkwardness."

Tyler laughed. "Dude, same. My dad's convinced that protein shakes are the solution to all of life's problems."

The fox watched them, head tilted. Beyond it, another bolt of lightning split the sky, electric and beautiful and temporary.

Maybe that's what this moment was—temporary, perfect, and totally okay.

Later, walking home in the drizzle, Maya realized she hadn't thought about AP Bio once. The vitamins could wait. Some things are more important than being perfect.