Three Seconds of Lightning

Maya's freshman year had been one long exercise in being invisible. Which was fine. Better than the alternative—being noticed for the wrong reasons. But when Jenna from chem class invited her to Taylor's party, Maya's mom practically shoved her out the door with a 'you'll have fun' that sounded more like threat than encouragement.

Now she stood in Taylor's crowded basement, clutching her **iPhone** like a lifeline, refreshing Instagram even though she'd already seen everything twice. The bass thumped against her chest. Someone's older brother had supplied cheap beer. Maya pressed herself against a wall, watching the social **pyramid** unfold before her—jocks at the top, theater kids forming their own enclave, everyone else scattered in between.

Then she saw him: Liam, the sophomore who'd smiled at her in the hallway last Tuesday. He was coming toward her. Maya's heart did this stupid flutter thing. She adjusted her beanie, suddenly hyper-aware of the stupid **hat** she'd thrown on to hide her hair.

'Hey,' Liam said. 'You're in chem with Jenna, right?'

'Yeah!' Maya practically shouted. 'I mean, yeah. That's me.' Cool, Maya. So cool.

He laughed, though—not mean laughter. 'Taylor's brother brought these weird snacks.' He held out a bowl. 'Goldfish crackers? Who eats these at a party?'

Maya reached for one, but her **iPhone** buzzed at the exact same moment. Her hand knocked the bowl. Goldfish scattered everywhere—across the carpet, onto someone's shoes, into a unsuspecting red Solo cup.

The room went quiet. Not like, dramatic silence. More like, 'what just happened' confusion. Maya felt her face burn. She wanted to dissolve into the floorboards, teleport away, literally anything but stand here frozen in humiliation.

Then **lightning** flashed through the basement windows—there must be a storm outside—and in that split second of strobe-light illumination, Maya saw something. Liam was crouching down, picking up goldfish crackers with her.

'Triple batch,' he said, grinning up at her. 'Taylor's brother was hungry. These things are everywhere.' He tossed a goldfish into the air and caught it in his mouth. 'Ten points if you make it in that girl's purse.'

Someone laughed. Then someone else did. And suddenly the awkward moment had shifted into something else—something lighter. Maya found herself grinning back.

'You're on,' she said.

Later, she'd realize that lightning didn't just strike outside. In three seconds of goldfish disaster and basement darkness, something inside her had shifted too. Being noticed wasn't always bad. Sometimes it was exactly what you needed.