The Palm-Sweat Protocol

Maya's palms were sweating so much she might've slipped right out of her own skin. Standing outside Tyler's house, she checked her reflection in the phone camera one more time. The fifth time, actually. Her makeup was fine. Her outfit was fine. She was a nervous wreck.

"You got this," she whispered to herself. "You are not a zombie. You are a functioning human being who can socialize normally."

The door swung open, and there stood Tyler, wearing that crooked grin that made her stomach do Olympic gymnastics routines.

"Yo, you made it!" He fist-bumped her, which was weirdly better than a hug. "Everyone's in the basement. My mom made those spinach artichoke dip things you like."

"You remembered?" Maya felt her face heat up.

"I mean, yeah." A shrug. "You mentioned it like once when we were partners in bio."

They walked downstairs to where ten other people were scattered across couches and floor space. Some were playing video games, others just scrolling and talking. Maya knew some of them from school, but others were total strangers. That tight feeling in her chest started creeping up again.

"Who wants to watch Jake try to beat everyone at Mario Kart?" Tyler called out. "Spoiler: he's gonna crash into every wall like usual."

"I'm like a goldfish with this game, okay?" Jake protested. "I forget the tracks every single time."

The room erupted in laughs. Someone threw a pillow at him. Maya found herself smiling, actually relaxing. The spinach dip was actually amazing. She sat next to Tyler on the couch, their knees touching.

"So," he said, his voice dropping a little, "I heard about what happened with Jessica today. That was messed up."

Maya's stomach dropped. "Yeah. She told everyone I—"

"Yeah, bull, though," Tyler cut in. "Nobody believes that. We all know you're not like that."

Maya felt something loosen in her chest. She hadn't realized how much she'd needed to hear that.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"Anyway." Tyler bumped her shoulder with his. "Want me to teach you how to actually play this game? Since you're apparently allergic to winning."

"Excuse me?" Maya grabbed a controller. "Prepare to get destroyed."

And for the first time all night, her hands weren't sweating at all.