Sarah's playlist was on shuffle, but somehow it kept playing all the emotional ones. Adele. Olivia Rodrigo. Billie Eilish. The trifecta of "let-me-cry-in-peace" vibes.
It had been three days since the "Not-a-Date" with John. Three whole days.
She'd seen him in school quick waves, half-smiles, one awkward moment where they both reached for the same bottle of Fanta at the canteen and accidentally touched hands.
But no text. No call. No invite.
And so, the spiral began.
---
🌀 Overthinking Hour: Activated
> "Maybe I said something dumb? Maybe I wasn't interesting enough. Maybe he was just being polite. What if he's realized I'm too weird? Or too broken? Or just... too much?"
Sarah lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning above her like it was mocking her thoughts.
Carly's voice came through on a call. "If you keep analyzing everything, you're going to convince yourself into heartbreak."
"I'm not analyzing," Sarah replied. "I'm... reverse-emotionally investigating."
"That's literally a fancy word for overthinking. You need to chill. Or distract yourself. Or both. Come out with me this weekend."
Sarah groaned. "Socializing feels like climbing Mount Everest barefoot."
"And staying in your room turning into a sad girl popsicle isn't helping either."
Sarah sighed. Carly was right. She hated that.
---
🎉 Weekend Plans (That She Regretted Immediately)
The mall was packed. Loud. Bright. Full of other teens who looked way too confident for their own good.
Sarah stuck close to Carly as they entered the food court.
"Smile," Carly whispered. "You look like you're about to take a math test."
"This feels like a math test."
They got ice cream and grabbed a table. Just when Sarah was starting to relax a bit, she heard someone call her name.
"Sarah?"
Her heart skipped. Then stopped. Then did a weird hiccup.
It was John.
Wearing a hoodie. Holding a smoothie. Standing with another girl.
---
🧊 Ice Cream Meltdown
"Hey," he said, walking over. The girl beside him had perfectly curled hair and wore eyeliner with the precision of a NASA engineer.
"Hi," Sarah replied, voice slightly squeaky.
"This is my cousin, Amara," John said quickly. "She's visiting for the weekend."
Sarah nodded, trying to act normal.
Amara smiled warmly. "Hi! John's told me a bit about you."
That could mean anything. Or everything. Or nothing.
Her ice cream was melting.
"Cool. Um, nice to meet you."
John looked at her, maybe sensing her nervousness. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just... lactose and anxiety. Combo deal."
He laughed. That eased the tension. Slightly.
"I'll text you later?" he asked.
She nodded. "Sure."
And then he was gone. Again.
---
📲 That Night – The Text
John: "Hey. Sorry if that was weird today. You looked amazing, by the way. Hope I didn't ruin your hangout."
Sarah: "You didn't. Just... didn't expect to see you. Or your cousin with movie star eyebrows."
John: "She does have unfairly good eyebrows. But I didn't look at hers the way I looked at you."
Sarah blushed so hard, she had to physically throw her phone across the bed to stop from squealing.
---
🎧 Voice Memo – Entry: 'Spirals and Surprises'
> "Today was a mess. A social maze I didn't want to walk into. But it ended with words that made my heart slow dance a little. Maybe overthinking isn't always right. Maybe sometimes, it lies. And maybe… just maybe, I'm allowed to hope."