Bad Hair & Better Days
Maya stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, fingers trembling as they touched the neon blue streaks she'd dyed into her hair at 2 AM. It looked amazing on TikTok. On her actual head? It looked like a highlighter had exploded during a mental health crisis.
"Great," she muttered. "Perfect for first day back at school after moving halfway across the country."
Her cat, Luna, wove through her legs, purring like a tiny motor. Luna was the only one who'd witnessed the hair disaster ā and now the only friend Maya had in this entire suburban nightmare.
"You think it's bad, don't you?" Maya picked up the cat. Luna meowed, flicking her tail like whatever, humans are dramatic.
Downstairs, her dad was already pacing. "The cable guy should be here any minute!"
Because OF COURSE the internet was down. Maya's phone had died halfway through downloading her schedule. She couldn't even check if her new classmates had already posted pre-back-to-school thirst traps or if she was walking into a social minefield blind.
The doorbell rang. A guy with messy surfer hair and a COMPANY NAME emblazoned on his polo shirt stood there.
"Cable emergency?" he asked.
Maya's brain short-circuited. He was maybe a senior? He definitely skateboarded.
"Uh, my dad'sā" she started.
"Blue hair," he said, grinning. "Sick choice."
Maya froze. Was he roasting her? Was that sarcasm?
"It's... I messed it up."
"Nah, it's chaos energy." He bent down, petting Luna who'd immediately abandoned Maya for the stranger. Cats were traitors. "Last year, I shaved my head the day before homecoming. My mom cried."
"Really?"
"Bro, I looked like a chemically-impaired egg. But you know what?"
"What?"
"Nobody actually cares. They're all too busy worrying about their own disasters." He gestured at the cable. "Besides, blue hair? That's main character energy. Lean into it."
He fixed the internet in ten minutes. Luna curled up on his toolbox like she'd known him for years.
"I'm Chase, by the way," he said at the door. "You going to Northwood High?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow's my first day."
"Look for me at lunch." He pointed at her hair. "Wear it like that. Trust."
Maya watched him walk away, Luna winding around her ankles again, neon blue streaks catching the morning light. Maybe she could survive this after all. Or maybe she'd accidentally peak before first period and spend the rest of high school as "the blue cable girl" in everyone's group chats.
Either way, it'd be a story.