The Wild Kingdom Party

Maya stood on the porch, palms sweating against her phone case. Inside, Jake's house thudded with bass that vibrated in her chest. This was it—her first real high school party. No parents, no supervision, just thirty juniors who definitely knew how to be cool better than she did.

She'd been crushing on Jake since homeroom, when he'd loaned her a pen without making a big deal about it. Now she was here, wearing her favorite sweater that suddenly felt babyish, while girls in crop tops moved like they'd been practicing for this moment their whole lives.

"Hey!" Jake appeared at the door, grinning like he'd been hoping she'd come. "Glad you made it. Fair warning—my sister's cat got out earlier, so don't freak if you see it."

"Cat?" A girl behind her rolled her eyes. "Jake, nobody cares about your cat."

But then a scream erupted from the kitchen. Everyone rushed over to find Luna—that girl from chem class who'd barely spoken two words all year—standing on a chair, pointing.

"There's a CAT on the counter!"

A calico sat calmly beside a towering pyramid of red solo cups, tail flicking with what looked like judgment.

"That's Bandit," Jake sighed, reaching for her. The cat hissed and bolted, sending cups cascading everywhere. Someone shouted, "CAT fight!" and half the room pulled out their phones.

Maya spotted Luna sliding off the chair, face burning. Their eyes caught. Luna made a what-can-you-do gesture that was unexpectedly funny. Maya grinned back.

"Hey," Luna said, appearing beside her as everyone else chased the cat. "I'm Luna, apparently the girl who screams at housepets."

"Maya. And honestly? That cat had it coming."

Luna laughed—a real laugh, head tilted back. "You know Jake's mom keeps goldfish in that bowl by the window? This one girl, I swear, she's been staring at them for twenty minutes like they're gonna reveal the meaning of life."

"Attention span of a goldfish," Maya said.

"Exactly. But hey, speaking of attention..." Luna nodded toward the corner, where Jake was talking to Brooke, the junior class president. "He keeps looking at you."

"No he doesn't."

"He does. I'm observant. I notice things. Like how that cat was probs the only real animal here—everyone else is just playing their part." Luna's expression turned knowing. "You got any siblings?"

"Older brother. He's a total bear about who I hang out with."

"Ugh, protective? That's so medieval. My brother's just... gone. College, you know?" She kicked at the floorboards. "Anyway, Jake's nice, but that Brooke girl? She's a fox, I'll give her that. Clever too. Did you see how she shut down that kid who was talking bull about his 'sick ride' earlier?"

Maya hadn't, but she was learning more from Luna in five minutes than she had from months of quietly watching.

The cat reappeared, jumping onto the coffee table and scattering a bowl of chips. The room erupted again.

"Okay," Luna said, grabbing Maya's wrist. "Let them chase the cat. You want to get out of here? There's a diner down the street. Their milkshakes are legit."

Maya looked across the room—Jake was still talking to Brooke, still not looking over. The party was loud and chaotic and honestly, kind of exhausting.

"Yes," Maya said. "A hundred times yes."

They slipped out the door, leaving the wild kingdom behind, two girls walking toward late-night fries and the start of something real.