The Spy on Court 4

Maya clutched her iPhone so hard her knuckles turned white. 47 unread messages from the group chat that had been blowing up all morning. She knew what they were saying without even looking.

"Did you hear about Maya and Connor?"

"So cringe."

"She actually thought he liked her back."

Padel practice had been her escape—that fast-paced racquet sport where the ball ricochets off walls like her anxious thoughts. But now even the court felt exposed. Connor was there, leaning against the fence, laughing with Chelsea like Maya's public breakdown had never happened.

Coach blew the whistle. "Laps! Now!"

Running. She could do this. One foot in front of the other, rhythmic and predictable. Her Nikes hit the track in a steady cadence that drowned out the noise in her head. The burn in her lungs felt better than the knot in her stomach.

But someone was watching.

She felt it halfway through her second lap—the unmistakable sensation of being observed. A spy in the bushes? No, she was being paranoid. This is what happened when your social life imploded in group chat. Everyone knew. Everyone was watching.

Then she saw him: a massive guy in a BEAR hoodie, crouched near the bleachers with his phone angled toward her.

Maya skidded to a stop. "Hey! What are you doing?"

The guy in the bear hoodie jumped, nearly dropping his phone. "Whoa, chill. I'm Leo. From AP Bio?"

She vaguely recognized him. "Are you filming me?"

"No! I'm filming this." He showed her his screen. "There's a newborn bear cub behind the maintenance shed. Rare for them to come this close to school."

Maya peered at the grainy zoom. Sure enough, a fuzzy black nose poked from the shadows.

"You thought I was spying on you?" Leo seemed amused. "Why, you famous or something?"

"Or something." The words tumbled out before she could stop them—the whole Connor situation, the group chat massacre, how she felt like the entire school was watching her private life crash and burn.

Leo listened. Actually listened. Then he said, "That sucks. But honestly? Nobody remembers anything past Tuesday. Next week, they'll be obsessed with something else."

"Easy for you to say."

"True. But I meant it about the bear." He handed her his phone. "Wanted to get it for my little sister. She's obsessed with animals."

Maya held the phone, watching the cub wobble on unsteady legs. Something shifted in her chest—lighter, somehow.

"Help me get a better shot?" Leo asked. "I know a spot behind the art wing."

She should go back to practice. Should apologize to Coach. But instead, Maya found herself walking toward the art wing, iPhone finally silent in her pocket, for the first time not worried about who was watching.

Sometimes the best things happened when you stopped running and let yourself get caught.