When the Lights Went Out

My summer job answering phones for CableConnect was supposed to be chill. Just wear the stupid branded hat, tell people to restart their router, collect minimum wage. Easy.

But then my dad started dropping phrases like "bear market" and "bull run" at dinner, trying to sound knowledgeable about crypto because he'd watched one YouTube video. Meanwhile, I'm actually googling stock terms to impress Sarah, who works at the desk next to mine and probably knows I'm full of it.

Friday, 4 PM. Thunderstorm rolling in. Sarah's telling me about how her ex tried to slide back into her DMs with some weak apology message, and I'm nodding like I understand relationship dynamics when I've literally never had a girlfriend.

"He's such a bear," she sighs, spinning in her chair. "All grumpy and hibernating when things get real."

I'm about to say something clever about bulls vs. bears when—CRACK. Lightning hits the transformer outside. Every screen goes black. The building goes dark.

Sarah squeaks. I freeze.

Then my brain actually works for once. I grab my phone, turn on the flashlight mode, and shine it toward her desk. She's grinning, maybe impressed?

"Your hat," she says. "It's glowing in the dark."

The stupid CableConnect hat has those cheap reflective strips. I probably look ridiculous.

"At least I'm prepared," I say, trying to sound smooth.

We spend the next hour sitting on the floor by the emergency exit, phones dead, watching the rain through the glass doors. She talks about her mom's cancer coming back. I talk about how I feel like I'm failing at being sixteen, how everyone else has this figured out and I'm just faking it.

"You're not faking it," she says, and her hand finds mine in the dark. "You're just figuring it out."

The power comes back on. The lights flicker to life. Our manager storms in, yelling about lost productivity.

Sarah winks at me, slides a napkin with her number across my desk, and mouthes: text me.

I keep the stupid hat. Sometimes the most embarrassing things become exactly what you need.