Behind the Eight Ball

Dempsey's Pool Hall smelled like old smoke and chlorine, the weird combo only happening because the indoor swimming center shared a wall. Maya leaned over the felt table, silver buzz cut catching the flickering neon light, her concentration absolute.

"You gonna shoot or what?" I asked, spinning a pool cue between my palms.

"This shot's everything." She squinted, silver hair practically glowing. "If I sink this eight ball, you're coming to Jessica's party. If I miss, I finally tell you why you shouldn't."

I laughed, pulling my hoodie up. "That's literally the opposite of what friends do."

"Exactly." She drew back the cue.

The ball cracked, spun, dropped. Perfect.

I groaned. "Fine. I'll go. But I'm hiding in the bathroom."

The bathroom mirror at Jessica's house showed me exactly what I'd been avoiding: my waist-length hair, dyed coral pink yesterday on impulse, now looking like a total disaster. The roots were still dark, the pink was patchy, and I looked like I'd lost a fight with a bottle of Kool-Aid.

I'd done it because my ex boyfriend said I was "boring." Classic teenage mistake, now immortalized in my reflection.

"You hiding in here too?" A voice from behind.

It was Lisa, the most perfect girl in school, her blonde waves cascading like she'd walked out of a conditioner commercial. Of course.

"Just fixing my..." I gestured helplessly at my head.

Lisa stepped closer, really looking at me. "You did this yourself?"

"Yeah. It's terrible."

"No," she said, surprising me. "It's sick. Like, actually brave." She pulled at her own perfect hair. "This takes me two hours every morning. I wish I had the guts to do something real."

Then her friend Cassie burst in, hair electric blue, half-shaved. "LISA! They're doing cannonballs in the pool! GET OUT HERE!"

Lisa grinned. "You coming?"

I thought about Maya's silver hair, her perfect shot. How she'd pushed me because she knew I needed pushing.

"Yeah," I said, pink disaster and all. "I'm coming."

Outside, the pool glowed blue and perfect, but for the first time, I didn't feel like I needed to be.