The Bear in the Hallway
The school mascot costume smelled like three years of sophomore sweat and desperation. "You're doing it, Marcus," said Jenna, slapping a fuzzy paw onto my shoulder. "Welcome to t...
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The school mascot costume smelled like three years of sophomore sweat and desperation. "You're doing it, Marcus," said Jenna, slapping a fuzzy paw onto my shoulder. "Welcome to t...
Leo's shoulder had been throbbing since preseason, but admitting it meant accepting his baseball dreams were basically cooked. So instead of telling Coach, he spent fifth period st...
My brain was moving at lightning speed, which was honestly not ideal for someone trying to look chill at the first party of junior year. I'd spent forty-five minutes arranging my h...
The orange sunset painted the sky behind Jensen's house, palm trees silhouetted against the glow like paper cutouts. I stood by the pool fence, clutching my phone like a lifeline, ...
I felt like a straight-up zombie—four hours of sleep, three AP exams, zero mental bandwidth. My brain was mush, my eyes burned, and don't even get me started on the headache that h...
Maya stood in front of the mirror, adjusting her grandma's vintage beret—that stupid **hat** she'd promised to wear for 'good luck' at her first high school party. As if eighth per...
Marcus stared at the goldfish bowl on his desk. Bubbles floated to the surface, breaking the silence of his bedroom. Three days until sophomore year started, and he was already plo...
The chlorine smell hit me before I even saw the pool. Maya's End-of-Summer Bash. The invite said "casual" but that was a lie—everyone knew this was a battlefield. I stood there in...
Leo stood on the pitcher's mound, sweat dripping down his temple as the summer heat pressed against him like a physical weight. The baseball felt heavy in his hand—a weapon, an exp...
Marcus Chen had perfected the art of being invisible at Northwood High—that is, until he accidentally became a self-appointed spy. It started during third-period lunch. Marcus sat...
Maya's mother had given her one mission for the eighth grade dance: don't be weird. But standing there in the gymnasium, watching the disco ball spin above her like a pathetic plas...
My first day as a junior counselor at Camp Pine Lake, I immediately regretted everything. The humidity alone was doing something awful to my hair, and I'd already said "you too" wh...