Three AM Reconnaissance

My mom says I look like a zombie, which honestly? Valid. Between AP chem, swim practice, and my new side gig as an unpaid social media investigator, I'm running on caffeine and pure vibes.

It started when Jordan, my best friend since seventh grade, began acting weird. Not like 'weird' funny—the way she laughs at my terrible puns—but like 'weird' distant. She'd ghost my texts, then post stories without me. Classic friend recession, right?

So I did what any rational person would do at 3 AM: I became a spy. Not the cool James Bond kind. The pathetic, thumb-cramping, scrolling-through-two-years-of-Instagram-archives kind. Turns out Jordan's been hanging with Taylor's squad—the same Taylor who called me 'basic' last month for wearing my lucky beanie every day.

Speaking of: that hat is my whole personality. It covers my bad hair days AND my anxiety. Taking it off would be like removing my armor. But Taylor's crew doesn't do hats. They do polished perfection and subtle shade.

The breakthrough came when I spotted Jordan's post: 'New squad, who dis?' with a pic of her and Taylor at the coffee shop we used to call ours. The betrayal stung worse than that time I tried to bleach my hair and ended up orange.

But here's the thing about being a zombie detective: you see everything. I zoomed in on the background of that photo. Taylor's phone was visible on the table, mid-text. The message bubble? 'Just keep her close until after homecoming, then we can fully phase her out.'

I was the friend they were phasing OUT while keeping me close enough to use me for homework answers.

I called Jordan immediately. No answer. So I did something brave: I posted my own story—no hat, just me, messy hair and all—with the caption: 'Some friends are temporary. Self-respect is forever.'

Jordan finally texted: ' wyd?'

'Graduating from your friend group,' I replied. 'It's been real, but I'm done being background character in your plot.'

Blocked. Deleted. My mom walked in as I was setting my phone down. 'You look less zombie-like today,' she said.

'That's because,' I pulled my hat back on, 'I finally woke up.'