Three AM Investigation

Maya's iphone glowed in her dark room at 2:47 AM, third consecutive night of falling down the rabbit hole of Leo's Instagram. She wasn't even friends with him—not really. They'd shared exactly seven words since freshman orientation (“Thanks” when he held the door). But here she was, thirty-two weeks deep in his social media existence, feeling like the world's most pathetic digital spy.

His captions were terrible. Every. Single. One. “Sunset vibes 🌅” posted at noon. “Living life ❤️” under a picture of his lunch. Maya had scrolled through it all: the unfortunate middle school hair phase (she zoomed in, obviously), the family vacation where he wore socks with sandals, the post from last Tuesday where he looked actually, devastatingly handsome in that flannel.

She was basically a zombie at this point. Eyes burning, thumb cramping, her own life feeling incredibly dull compared to the curated highlight reel of someone who didn't know she existed. Her friends were obsessed with their glow-ups and situationships; meanwhile, Maya was collecting emotional cringe compilations of a boy she'd never actually had a conversation with.

Then her thumb slipped—double tap on a photo from two years ago. Heart reacted. HER PROFILE. VISIBLE. Panic exploded like confetti in a graveyard.

Maya threw her phone across her bed and proceeded to stare at her ceiling for approximately seventeen years, planning her inevitable transfer to a school in another country. Maybe Antarctica. No one knew her in Antarctica.

Her phone buzzed. A DM notification. From Leo.

“Hey, didn't know you were interested in my middle school fashion choices 😂 That was peak era, honestly”

Maya stared. Then laughed. Actually laughed out loud in her empty room at 3 AM.

“Your mom clearly dressed you better back then,” she typed back, feeling somehow bold and terrified and alive for the first time in weeks.

“Touché. Wanna get coffee tomorrow and roast my former self properly?”

Maya lay back, grinning at her ceiling. Sometimes being a zombie detective spy was worth it. Sometimes. Most times it was just embarrassing, but right now? Right now she'd take the win.