Fox Hair & Palm Trees

Maya's hands were sweating. Actual gross, wipe-them-on-your-jeans sweating. She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror—the bright copper **hair** dye had turned out way more neon than she'd expected. It was fine. It was bold. It was definitely giving main character energy, or at least that's what she'd been telling herself for the last twenty minutes.

The bathroom door creaked open. Her cousin's best friend, Kai, leaned against the doorframe, fiddling with a tarot deck. "You've been hiding in here forever, Maya. Your **cat**-eye eyeliner is literally perfect. You look fire."

"It's too much, right?" Maya's **palm**s pressed against the cool sink. "Everyone's gonna stare."

Kai shrugged, that effortless glide that made everything look easy. "Let them stare. Besides, Jordan's gonna lose it when they see you."

Jordan. The reason Maya had spent two hours dyeing her hair in a poorly ventilated bathroom. Jordan, with their vintage band tees and that effortless **fox**-like smirk that made Maya's brain short-circuit every single time.

"You nervous?" Kai asked, softer now. "About Jordan?"

"No. Yes. I don't know." Maya straightened her spine. "Can you just—do the thing? With the cards?"

Kai grinned. "Palm reading's extra five bucks."

"You're the worst." Maya held out her hand anyway.

"Okay, okay." Kai traced the lines on her **palm** with exaggerated seriousness. "You're gonna bear witness to something huge tonight. I'm calling it. This hair isn't just hair, Maya. It's a whole vibe shift."

Maya rolled her eyes but felt something unclench in her chest. "You really think Jordan will—"

"I think Jordan's been looking for you all night." Kai nodded toward the door. "Which is exactly why I came in here. They're literally outside right now. With their bike. Waiting."

Maya's heart did something illegal against her ribs. She grabbed her phone, checked her reflection one last time—neon copper hair and trembling hands and all. "Okay. Okay, I'm ready."

"You were always ready." Kai opened the door. "Go **bear** witness to your main character moment, Maya."

She walked outside, where the sunset turned the palm trees gold and Jordan was waiting with two bikes and a smile that made everything—the hair, the nerves, the sweating hands—feel completely, totally worth it.