Chapter Three – A Like That Changes Everything
450 Words
The night was hot, the kind of heat that made even the fan sound tired. Dylan lay on his bed, scrolling on his cracked phone screen, trying to forget the test he had failed that morning. His mom’s disappointed face still stung more than the teacher’s words.
He muttered to himself:
“Escuela no es para mí… Basketball is all I got.”
He opened i********:, more out of habit than joy. Posts of friends at the beach, highlights of NBA stars, memes in Spanish. And then—he froze.
The profile
A new account appeared in the suggestions: Keisha M.
Profile picture: a smile so bright it made his chest tighten. She looked like someone who lived in a different world—snowy Chicago, not sunny Santo Domingo.
Dylan tapped.
Photos of volleyball courts, team celebrations, friends in warm coats while he was sweating in shorts.
Her captions mixed English and little bits of Creole slang he didn’t even understand.
He laughed softly. “Damn… esta tipa parece from another planet.”
But he kept scrolling. And the more he scrolled, the stranger it felt. Like he already knew her.
The hesitation
His thumb hovered over the heart button.
One like. That’s it. Just a digital tap.
But it wasn’t “just.” He felt his pulse speed up, as if the whole barrio could see what he was about to do.
“Bro, it’s nothing,” he whispered to himself. “She’s not even gonna notice… right?”
Still, his hand shook. Not in a game-winning shot kind of way—this was scarier.
And then—tap.
The heart turned red.
Across the ocean
In Chicago, Keisha was sitting on her bed, headphones blasting music while she texted her best friend. She didn’t even notice the notification at first. Just another like, she thought. But when she opened it—
“Dylan R.”
Profile picture: a kid on a cracked court, sweaty, holding a ball like it was his whole life.
She tilted her head, smiled without realizing.
“Who is this guy?” she murmured.
And for the first time, she didn’t scroll past.
Dylan stared at his screen, half-regretting, half-praying she wouldn’t see. His stomach felt like before tip-off, when the ball was in the air and everything was possible.
He locked the phone, tossed it beside him, then picked it up again seconds later.
Still no answer. Still silence.
He groaned. “Ya, I’m loco. Why did I even—”
Ding.
A message.
His eyes widened.
Keisha: “Hey… do I know you?”
And just like that, a red string across continents grew visible, even if they couldn’t see it yet
- Writer
