Fox in the Fitting Room

Maya's palms were sweating against her denim shorts. The vintage shop smelled like mothballs and her grandma's closet, but Cassie swore this was where the cool kids got their festival fits.

"Try this on," Cassie said, shoving a straw cowboy hat at Maya. "Tyler's party is gonna be lit."

Maya grimaced. The last time she'd worn anything western, she was seven and it was Halloween. But Cassie was already checking her reflection in the full-length mirror, adjusting the fringe on her crop top like she was born to rodeo.

The hat settled over Maya's curls. She caught her reflection and actually didn't hate it. The floppy bram shadowed her eyes, giving her a mysterious vibe. Maybe this wouldn't be terrible.

Then she saw the price tag: $85.

"No way," Maya said, already pulling it off. "I'm not dropping that much for one party."

"You're being a buzzkill," Cassie whined. "Live a little."

Maya's phone buzzed. A text from Tyler: *u coming? everyone's asking abt u*

Her stomach did that flippy thing it always did when his name popped up. Tyler, with his messy hair and that way of looking at her like she was actually funny. Tyler, who'd invited her to his annual end-of-school bash two weeks ago and she'd been overthinking it ever since.

"Fine," Maya said, reaching for her wallet. "But I'm returning it tomorrow."

They got to Tyler's house an hour later. The backyard was strung with fairy lights, and someone had set up a mechanical bull that kept tossing people into the sawdust. Country music thumped from huge speakers. The air smelled like bonfire smoke and something sweet—maybe vanilla?

Maya spotted Tyler immediately. He was near the drinks, wearing a backwards baseball cap and laughing at something. Her heart sped up.

Then she saw her. Jessica, leaning close to Tyler, wearing cutoffs and a plaid shirt knotted at her waist. They looked like they belonged together—like something out of a music video. Maya felt ridiculous in her hat. Who was she kidding?

She turned back to Cassie. "I think I'm gonna—"

"Maya!" Tyler's voice cut through the music. He was waving her over.

Jessica shot Maya a look—sharp and assessing, like a fox sizing up prey—and then gave Tyler a giggle that made Maya want to scream.

But Maya swallowed hard and walked over anyway.

"Hey," Tyler said, his smile genuine. "I love the hat. It's... unexpected." He said it like it was a good thing.

"Thanks," she managed, her palms sweating all over again.

Jessica fake-smiled. "Cute. Very... thematic."

Maya took a breath. She could do this. She could own this ridiculous hat and this ridiculous party and whatever happened next.

"Yeah," Maya said, meeting Jessica's eyes directly. "Sometimes unexpected is exactly what you need."

Tyler laughed—a real laugh, head thrown back—and just like that, Maya didn't feel like an imposter anymore. She was just a girl in a cowboy hat, standing next to a boy she liked, while somewhere behind them, someone screamed as the mechanical bull bucked them into the dirt.

And honestly? It was perfect.