The Palm Reader's Prophecy

Maya's palms were sweating. Like, actually dripping. Which was exactly why she was hiding behind the bleachers instead of at Tyler's party, where she should've been forty minutes ago.

"You're overthinking it," said Leo, sitting on a milk crate and petting Mr. Whiskers, the neighborhood's most judgmental cat. The cat stared at Maya with zero sympathy.

"Easy for you to say," Maya muttered. "You're not the one who spent three hours straightening your hair just so it could frizz the second you stepped outside."

Her phone buzzed. again. Party hype was building on her story — the social pyramid of sophomore year was realigning itself without her.

Then something weird happened. Mr. Whiskers jumped from Leo's lap and trotted toward the old abandoned gymnasium. The cat kept looking back at them like, come on, are you coming or what?

"Okay that's creepy," Maya said.

"Follow the cat," Leo said, already standing up.

"That's how horror movies start."

"That's how ADVENTURE starts," he corrected.

Fine. Whatever. She followed the cat around back, where someone had set up a palm-reading booth, decorated with Christmas lights and actual good vibes. A girl with dyed-green hair sat there, wearing way too many rings.

"The cat led you here," Green-Hair Girl said. "Classic."

She took Maya's hand, studied her palm like it was the most interesting thing she'd seen all night. "You're worried about where you fit. But here's the thing — pyramids are built from the bottom up. The foundation supports everything."

Maya blinked. "That's deep."

"It's literally geometry," Green-Hair Girl said. "Your hair looks great, by the way. The frizz gives it personality."

Mr. Whiskers jumped onto the table and knocked over a crystal ball.

"And the cat approves," Leo said.

Maya checked her phone. Tyler had posted a photo of her friend group, looking bored. caption: "wish u were here."

"You know what?" Maya said. "My hair does look pretty cool."

She took Leo's arm. "Let's go to that party. But first — we're bringing the cat."

"Maya."

"Fine. But we're telling everyone the cat blessed us."