The Party Algorithm

Maya's iPhone buzzed in her pocket like a trapped insect, but she ignored it. She was hiding in Emma's bathroom, mentally calculating the optimal time to leave without it looking like she'd fled.

"You good?" The door creaked open. Jake. Emma's older brother's friend, the one who always sat by himself at lunch.

"Just," Maya waved her phone vaguely. "Zombie scrolling. You know how it is."

"Actually," Jake said, "I don't. My parents are kind of... strict about screens."

Maya looked up. Really looked. "Wait, you're not on Instagram?"

"Only at school. On my friend's phone." He shrugged. "It's whatever."

"Whatever?" Maya's phone pinged again—someone tag in a group chat she wasn't part of. "Dude, that's messed up. How do you survive?"

"I have a dog," Jake said, like this explained everything. "His name is Barnaby. We go on these super long walks and I talk to him about stuff. It's actually kind of... nice?"

Maya stared. Then she started laughing. She couldn't help it. The absurdity of it, the way he said it like it was normal, like having deep conversations with a golden retriever was just a Tuesday activity.

"What?" Jake grinned, and Maya realized she'd never seen him really smile before.

"Nothing, just—" Her phone buzzed AGAIN. Someone asking if she was coming back to the party. "You know what? Screw this."

She typed out a message: sorry, emergency, gotta bounce. Hit send. Power off.

"Wanna meet Barnaby?" Maya asked.

Jake's eyes lit up. "He's in the car. My sister's driving us home in like, twenty minutes if you—"

"Maya!" The bathroom door swung open. It was Brianna, queen bee of the junior class, looking flushed and fierce. "Stop hiding. Connor's looking for you."

For a moment, Maya felt it—that old reflex to obey, to shrink. Then she remembered Jake and his dog walks and his stupid, brave honesty.

"That's bull, Brianna," Maya said, and the words felt like finally exhaling. "I'm not hiding. I'm leaving."

She walked past Brianna without waiting for a response. Jake fell into step beside her, grinning.

"Barnaby's gonna lose his mind," he said. "He's never had a passenger."

"Can't wait to meet him," Maya said. And she meant it. For the first time all night, her phone was dark in her pocket, and she didn't care at all.