When the Cable Snapped

Maya's phone died at 11:47 PM, right as Jake's text bubble was typing-typing-typing. The ultimate betrayal. Her iPhone, her lifeline to the most popular guy in sophomore year, now just a black mirror staring back at her.

"You got a cable?" she whispered to Chloe, who was currently failing at being a wallflower at Tyler's end-of-summer party.

Chloe nodded, fished one out of her pocket like it was contraband. "But you have to go into the Bear Cave."

The Bear Cave being Tyler's older brother's room. The brother everyone literally called Bear because he was six-foot-four and once ate an entire rotisserie chicken by himself in seven minutes. Also, he was scary intense about his personal space.

Maya hesitated. But Jake. Jake was typing something. Maybe something important. Maybe 'I like you.' Maybe 'Want to go to homecoming together?' Maybe 'Can you believe I'm about to text you something incredibly important?'

She crept toward Bear's door, heart hammering against her ribs like it was trying to escape.

The room was dimly lit, posters covering every inch of wall space. And there was Bear, sitting at his desk, wearing—was that a zombie makeup tutorial? No wait, he was watching zombie makeup tutorials on his laptop while carefully arranging papaya slices on a plate.

Maya froze. This was not the scary Bear energy she was prepared for.

"You want the charging outlet?" Bear asked, not even turning around. "It's behind you. And don't judge the papaya—it's for pre-workout fuel. Zombie apocalypse preparation is serious business."

"Zombie apocalypse?"

"You never know." He turned, revealing half his face done up in surprisingly good undead makeup. "I'm Tyler's brother, by the way. Most people call me Bear. You're Maya, right? You're in that creative writing club with my sister?"

Maya plugged in her phone. "Yeah."

"Cool." Bear gestured to the papaya. "Want some? It's actually good if you don't think about how it looks."

She took a slice. It wasn't bad.

Her phone buzzed. Jake's text: 'nm, forget it'

Maya stared at the screen. Two seconds ago, she would've died without this moment. Now?

"You okay?" Bear asked.

She looked at this six-foot-four guy with zombie makeup and papaya, who was somehow the least intimidating person she'd met all night.

"Yeah," Maya said. "Actually, I'm good."

Sometimes the things you think will be terrifying end up being the ones that save you. And sometimes Jake's text isn't the climax of your story—it's just a plot twist that leads you somewhere better.