The Sprint Message

Maya's thumb hovered over the screen, her heartbeat syncing with the pulsing notification light on her cracked iphone. The track meet had ended twenty minutes ago, and the locker room was already emptying out. She'd been running the 400-meter dash since seventh grade, but today something felt different.

"You're not going to check that?" said Jada, her best friend since sixth grade, shoving her gear bag into her locker. "It's been buzzing non-stop."

"It's probably just Devin talking mess again," Maya muttered, though they both knew it wasn't.

The drama had started three days ago when someone — likely Tyler, that self-proclaimed 'relationship expert' — spread absolute bull about Maya hooking up with Jake at Jordan's party. Now half the school was blowing up her phone, demanding details that didn't exist.

"Seriously?" Jada rolled her eyes. "You'd think people had better things to do than make up stuff about other people's lives."

That's when Maya saw the notification: Jake himself had finally responded. Her stomach did that weird flip thing it always did when his name popped up.

Outside, the Florida humidity hit them like a wall. The parking lot was alive with students, laughter, and the distant sound of a basketball bouncing on pavement. Maya's legs still felt like jelly from the race — she'd PR'd with a 58.3, but Coach Richardson had been watching her like a hawk all season.

"Just read it already," Jada said, leaning against Maya's car.

Maya unlocked her phone. The message made her grin: "Your brother told me you ran a 58 today. That's insane. Also, that story about us is such BS lol. You want to grab food with me and the crew tomorrow?"

"Well?" Jada demanded.

Maya locked her phone, feeling lighter than she had all week. "He knows it's fake. And we might be getting food tomorrow."

"Finally!" Jada cheered. "Now can we please go? I'm starving."

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Maya's phone buzzed again. She didn't even look. Some things could wait until tomorrow.