Sent to: Everyone

Friday. 17:15. Leo is in his bedroom. The party is at 6pm. He has one hour.

Leo opens the Class 7B chat. He reads the replies.

18:02. The doorbell rings. Then it rings again. And again.

Leo opens the front door. Three classmates stand there. One holds a gift bag. One holds a big bag of crisps. One holds balloons. Leo stands very still. He does not know what to say.

More people arrive. Then more. Leo is still at the door. He counts. Seven. Ten. Twelve. Fourteen. His house is full of people and noise and balloons. Leo has not moved.

Then Maya arrives. She is the last one. She walks up to the door. She sees Leo standing there, frozen. She looks at the house full of people. She smiles.

Maya walks past Leo and into the house. She says hello to everyone by name. She tells people where to put the food. She finds the music. She laughs at every joke. Leo stands in the hall and watches. He cannot believe it.

The party is loud. The music is good. There are crisps everywhere. Leo's mum brings out the cake. Everyone sings. Maya laughs so hard her eyes go red. It is the most fun Leo has ever seen her have on her birthday.

21:30. The party is over. The house is quiet again. Leo is in the kitchen. His mum is washing cups. Balloons are on the floor.

Leo puts his phone on the kitchen table. He looks at the balloons on the floor. He smiles. Then his phone lights up. One new message. It is from Maya.

Leo reads it. He smiles. He picks up his phone. He starts to type. He stops. He checks the chat name at the top of the screen. He checks it again. It says: Maya.