Unplugged

The charging cable frayed at exactly 7:43 PM—three minutes before Jade's birthday party stream started. Maya stared at her phone, battery plummeting like her social status. "Whatever," she muttered, though her chest felt tight. This was fine. She'd just catch the vibes later.

Her so-called friend group had been distancing themselves for weeks, subtle shifts she'd been too online to notice. Now she was stuck at home while everyone else lived their best lives without her.

Desperate, she ransacked the junk drawer, hunting for a spare. Instead, she found a bottle of gummy vitamins from last summer's wellness phase. The label read: *For Immune Support.* Lol. If only they made supplements for social immunity.

Her little brother Leo appeared in the doorway, holding his Nintendo Switch. "You alive in here? Mom said dinner's ready."

"I'm dying," Maya groaned, face down on the bed. "Socially. Electrically. Existentially."

Leo shrugged. "Wanna play Smash instead? I'll even let you be Joker."

Something about his dorky offer cracked her open. She'd been so busy chasing the wrong kind of connection that she'd forgotten the kind that actually mattered—no cable required.

"Fine," she said, sitting up. "But you're going down."

They played until midnight, laughing so hard her stomach hurt. When she finally checked her phone the next morning, the group chat was full of drama anyway— Jade crying because someone posted something shady, fake apologies flying, the usual toxicity.

Maya put her phone down. Her real friend had been in her own house the whole time.

The cable could wait. Some things couldn't be charged—they had to be lived.