When the Sky Cracked Open

Maya's notification pinged for the thousandth time, screen lighting up her face in the darkness of her bedroom. Her iPhone 11—literally the oldest model anyone at Jefferson High still carried—displayed another Snap from Chloe's story. Everyone at the party. Without her.

"Whatever," Maya muttered, shoving the phone under her pillow like she could bury the FOMO along with it. She wasn't missing much anyway. Probably just Blake drinking Natty Light and pretending his dad's Audi wasn't leased.

Her goldfish, Bartholomew, swam to the glass edge of his bowl, mouth opening and closing in that perpetually hungry way. "You wouldn't ditch me, would you Barty?" Maya whispered, dropping a flake of food. His three-second memory seemed almost comforting sometimes. No overthinking. No social suicide anxiety. Just swim, eat, repeat.

Thunder rattled her windowframe. Perfect. Now the weather was matching her vibe.

Her phone buzzed again. This time a text from LEVI. (Not the captains of the baseball team Levi—the other one. The one who wore Carhartts and sat in the back of English class)

"Hey um weird question but are you okay? Chloe said you weren't feeling well"

Maya stared at the message. Chloe's version of "not feeling well" apparently meant "refused to come to a party where I'd look lame for bringing someone who's not part of the squad."

"Yeah I'm fine," Maya typed. "Just not really feeling parties lately ig"

"Same tb," Levi wrote back. "I'm at the field by myself. If you wanted to. Like no pressure but—"

Before Maya could process what was happening, she was grabbing her hoodie and slipping out the window.

Lightning split the sky as she jogged toward the baseball field, illuminating everything in sudden, stark whiteness. She spotted Levi sitting on the bleachers, a battered glove on his left hand, tossing a ball up and catching it like he'd been doing this for hours.

"You came," he said, like he genuinely couldn't believe it.

"Yeah," Maya breathed out, chest tight from running but also from something else. Something like hope.

They sat there as the storm built, talking about everything and nothing. How Chloe's friend group was actually toxic as hell. How his grandpa had played minor league baseball. How Maya's mom had passed away two years ago, how she felt like she'd been swimming through her life ever since.

"Kinda like your fish," Levi said, and Maya laughed—really laughed—for the first time in months.

Then the sky opened up, rain pouring down like the world was ending, and they didn't even run for cover. Just sat there getting soaked while lightning flashed overhead, electric and alive and terrifying and beautiful all at once.

"This is so dumb," Maya yelled over the thunder, grinning like an idiot.

"Yeah," Levi agreed, looking at her like she was something worth seeing. "But like, in a good way?"

Later, dripping wet in her bedroom, Maya looked at her phone. No new notifications from Chloe. But one text from Levi: "Same time next Saturday?"

Maya smiled, setting her phone down without checking Snapchat. Some things were better than a story.