The Party and the Bullshit

The bass thrummed in Maya's chest as she leaned against the kitchen counter, clutching her **iphone** like a lifeline. eighteen notifications glowed at the top of her screen—Instagram stories, Snapchat streaks, people who'd never actually text her back.

Across the room, Jake wrestled a cowboy **hat** onto his head, the crowd cheering like he'd just won gold at the Olympics. Maya forced a smile, but inside she felt hollow. These weren't her people, and she knew it. They were the kids who'd ignored her in the halls last year, suddenly accepting her because she'd started dating Tyler.

"Maya! You're not recording this?" someone shouted.

She raised her phone mechanically, capturing Jake's drunken theatrics. The screen showed a version of the party—bright, perfect, worthy of ten thousand likes. The reality smelled like cheap beer and desperation.

"This is **bull**," Maya whispered to herself.

"What?" Sarah materialized beside her, eyes wide. "You think Jake is being bull?"

"No, just..." Maya paused. The words sat on her tongue, sharp and terrifying. "This whole thing. We're all pretending to be having the time of our lives, but everyone's just checking their phones every five seconds to see if anyone else is doing something cooler."

Sarah stared at her for a long moment. Then she laughed—not fake, not performative. Real. "Oh my god, finally someone said it."

"I thought you were having fun?" Maya asked.

"I thought I was supposed to be having fun," Sarah corrected. "There's a difference."

They ended up on the back porch, shoulder to shoulder in the chill air. Sarah confessed she'd transferred schools because her old friend group had made her feel like garbage. Maya admitted she'd been ghosting Tyler's texts all week but didn't know how to break it off.

"You're a real **friend**," Sarah said suddenly. "Like, actually. Most people would've just kept smiling and posting stories."

Maya looked at her phone, dark now. No notifications. No pressure. Just the two of them, sitting on a porch step at midnight, being honest.

"Yeah," Maya said, grinning. "Weird, right?"

Inside, the party raged on. But out here, something better was happening. Something real.