Thunder & Secrets

Maya's cat Mr. Whiskers was obsessed with the window during storms, which meant *lightning* became a spectator sport from our spot on the bedroom floor. We'd been besties since seventh grade, but something felt off lately — like she was ghosting me without actually disappearing.

"So," I said, trying to sound casual while her cat aggressively kneaded my stomach, "you've been weird about your phone lately."

Maya's face did that thing where she simultaneously wanted to cry and also bolt from the room. "I'm not being weird."

"Dude, you literally flinched when I asked to see your Instagram earlier. You're acting like I'm some kind of *spy* instead of your friend."

The thunder cracked directly overhead, making both of us jump. Mr. Whiskers abandoned my stomach for under the bed, clearly over our drama.

"Okay, fine." Maya grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest. "But you have to promise not to freak out."

"I promise nothing."

"I've been talking to someone online."

"Okay? That's normal?"

"From that anon account. The one that roasts everyone at school."

I stared at her. "Wait — YOU'RE the one who called Jake's sneakers 'clown shoes' in front of everyone last week?"

"He WAS wearing clown shoes!" Maya protested, then caught herself. "That's not the point. The point is, I made this account to vent about stuff I couldn't say irl, and now people think it's some cool mysterious *friend* of ours, and I don't know how to tell them it's just me being salty in my basement."

I started laughing and couldn't stop. "All this time, I thought you were hiding something deep."

"I WAS! I still am!"

"Maya." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Everyone at school thinks that account is hilarious. You're literally famous for being correctly mean about Jake's fashion choices. That's not something to be embarrassed about."

"Really?"

"Really. Also, his shoes were objectively tragic."

The rain started pelting the window harder, but the weird tension between us had finally broken. Sometimes the people we think we know best are still full of surprises — like discovering your ride-or-die *friend* is secretly the funniest person at school, too afraid to take credit for her own genius. That night, we stayed up until 3 AM drafting her coming-out post as the anonymous roaster. Some secrets are way better when they're shared.