The Summer We Became Spies

The cable guy came at the worst possible time — right when I was mid-text to Tyler about maybe hanging out after summer school. I mean, who installs internet at 2 PM on a Tuesday? But then I saw the cable guy's van parked across the street every day that week.

"New neighbor's weird," I whispered to Mia at lunch on Thursday. "Think he's spying on us."

Mia rolled her eyes so hard I thought they'd get stuck. "Chill, Lena. Not everything's a conspiracy theory."

But I'd noticed things. The way his curtains always shifted when I walked to the bus stop. The reflection in his window that looked like a camera lens. The cat — this gorgeous black cat with mismatched eyes — that kept appearing on my porch like clockwork at 4 PM. Way too coincidental.

Friday afternoon, I decided to investigate. Okay, "investigate" is a strong word. I was mostly just trying to look busy doing homework on the porch while casually watching the neighbor's house. The cat appeared, winding around my legs like it owned me.

"You're in on it too, aren't you?" I whispered, scratching behind its ears. A piece of paper fell from its collar.

My hands shook as I unfolded it. Not surveillance photos. Not government secrets.

"UR CAT IS SO CUTE CAN I PET HIM PLS - ALSO UR LEMON TREE LOOKS AMAZING ANY CHANCE I COULD HAVE SOME??"

The curtains across the street flew open. My "spy" — this guy who looked like my age, wearing a Nirvana shirt and holding a phone — waved frantically. His cat (HER cat, actually) sat in his window, looking unfairly smug.

"SORRY IF I'M BEING WEIRD," he shouted across the street. "I'M SAM. NEW HERE. SOCIAL ANXIETY IS MY THING."

"LENA," I yelled back, laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. "AND YEAH, YOU CAN HAVE LEMONS."

That night, Tyler texted: "Saw you talking to the new neighbor. 👀"

"Shut up," I replied. "But also, he might be cooler than you."

Sam and I spent the rest of summer sitting on our respective porches, yelling across the street like old people, while our cats became besties. Sometimes the best spies are just the people too nervous to say hello in person, and sometimes a cable guy is just a cable guy who happens to work weird hours.

I never did get that date with Tyler. But I did get my first real friend in a neighborhood where I'd always felt invisible. And that was way better than any summer romance could've been.