Goldfish & Orange Hair

Maya's phone buzzed with the address. Her first actual party. Not "friends over for pizza" party, but like, real high school party party.

She stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair, recently dyed a vibrant orange that her mom called "unprofessional," felt like a neon sign announcing I DON'T BELONG HERE. The vitamin C gummy she'd popped earlier for supposed "immune support" was definitely not helping her nerves.

"You got this," she whispered, grabbing her backpack. Inside: emergency goldfish crackers, backup phone charger, and the distinct hope that nobody would notice her standing alone in the corner.

The party was already chaotic when she arrived. People everywhere, music that vibrated through the floor, the smell of something burning in the kitchen. Maya made a beeline for the food table, immediately regretting everything.

Then she saw him. Tyler. The guy she'd been crushing on since seventh grade, when he'd accidentally knocked over her binder in the hallway and helped pick everything up. He was near the sliding glass door, looking as miserable as she felt.

Her brain went full bull in a china shop. Instead of casually walking over, she tripped. Her goldfish cracker emergency stash spilled everywhere. Not graceful. Not cool. Not anything she'd planned.

Tyler looked up, saw her, and actually smiled. "Smooth."

"I'm just testing gravity," she heard herself say, and he laughed. A real laugh.

"I'm Tyler."

"Maya. My hair's orange, I know."

"I was gonna say it's sick," he said. "I wanted to dye mine blue but my parents said no."

They ended up on the back porch, sharing goldfish crackers and talking about everything and nothing. He admitted he'd only come because his best friend dragged him. She confessed she'd taken three vitamin gummies thinking they'd give her courage.

"Did they?" he asked.

"No," she said. "This did."

The party raged inside, but Maya finally belonged somewhere. And she hadn't needed the orange hair to stand out, or the goldfish to fit in. She'd just needed to trip in front of the right person.