Three Texts Above Skyline

The party thumped through Maya's palm as she gripped her phone, knuckles white. Three hours of overthinking every possible outcome, and she was still standing at the edge of Liam's backyard, watching everyone else live their best lives while she recited mental pep talks that definitely weren't working.

"You good?"

Maya nearly dropped her phone. Chloe stood there with that annoyingly perfect smile, solo cup in hand, like social anxiety was something she'd read about once and decided not to experience.

"Yeah," Maya lied, because that's what you do. "Just... charging my mental battery before the social pyramid scheme begins."

Chloe laughed, actually laughed, and tilted her head. "You know Liam's cat is hiding under the porch? Found him when I was escaping earlier."

"Wait, you escape too?" The words slipped out before Maya could filter them.

"Girl, everyone escapes. Just not everyone admits it." Chloe leaned closer. "I only came because Liam finally got that cable hookup for his gaming setup. Thought we could all play Smash, but apparently, we're doing... whatever this is." She gestured at the pyramid of red cups on the patio table, already tilting dangerously.

Maya's shoulders dropped two inches. "So we're both just awkwardly standing here while everyone else pretends to be living their main character moment?"

"Pretty much." Chloe checked her phone. "Hey, you wanna just bail? Go get boba? My treat, since you're literally vibrating with stress right now."

Maya looked at her phone—one notification from her mom asking if she was having fun, two from group chats she was too overwhelmed to answer. The palm tree swayed overhead, casting shadows that made everything feel softer, less sharp.

"Actually," she said, "boba sounds iconic."

They left five minutes later, walking past Liam's confused expression and the increasingly wobbly cup pyramid. By the time they reached the boba place, Maya had already sent three texts without overthinking any of them.

Sometimes the best moments aren't the ones you spend three hours preparing for. Sometimes they're just two people, boba, and the relief of not having to fake it anymore.