The Splash Screen

Maya gripped her **iphone** so hard her knuckles turned white. The group chat was blowing up — everyone was at the club, playing **padel**, posting stories with aesthetic geotags while she sat at home, overthinking every dip and serve.

"You coming or what?" Liam's text flashed. Simple. Casual. But Maya's brain made it heavy.

She grabbed her racquet and headed out, heart doing that stupid fluttery thing it always did when Liam was involved. The summer air already felt thick, like breathing through warm **water**.

When she arrived, the courts were packed. Bella was there, naturally, serving in that effortless way that made everything look like a TikTok tutorial. Her golden retriever, Buster, barked joyfully from the sidelines, chasing stray balls like a derp on speed.

"Finally!" Bella waved. "Liam's been waiting."

Liam. Leaning against the fence, phone in his back pocket, watching her with that half-smile that made Maya's stomach do a full routine.

"Ready to get destroyed?" he teased, tossing her a ball.

"In your dreams, Williams."

They played. Maya served. The ball hit the net. Again. Her third serve sailed wide.

"You're thinking too hard," Liam said, stepping closer. "Just hit it."

But Maya was already spiraling. The humidity, the audience, Liam's eyes, the way Bella's phone camera kept panning their way...

She wound up for a killer serve, put everything into it —

And somehow managed to launch her **iphone** from her pocket mid-swing. It arced beautifully through the air, a moment of perfect trajectory, before splashing into the club's decorative fountain.

Silence. Then Buster **dog**-paddled into the fountain after it.

"Wait!" Maya scrambled toward the **water**, but Liam was already there, waist-deep, fishing out her phone with the kind of smooth confidence that made her want to simultaneously die and marry him.

"Rice," he said, water dripping from his hair, holding up her dripping phone. "We put it in rice."

Buster shook himself **water**-logged style, spraying them both. Bella captured it all on her story.

Later, sitting in Liam's kitchen while her phone sat in a bowl of rice, Maya realized something: her screen was black, no notifications, no overthinking, just the two of them, a half-eaten pizza, and the realization that sometimes the best moments happen when your signal cuts out.