Operation Bad Hair Day

Maya's curly hair was basically a sentient entity with its own zip code. Sixth period chemistry meant pulling her beanie down to her eyebrows, because the second humidity hit those ringlets, they'd poof up like she'd stuck a fork in an electrical outlet. Being undercover was exhausting.

"You're literally doing it again," whispered Jazz, her best friend since kindergarten. "Spying on him with those big eyes."

"I am not spying," Maya protested, though she was totally spying. Tyler was messing with his phone, not paying attention. Maya's crush had survived three months of her subtle staring sessions without detection. "I'm conducting casual observations."

"Right." Jazz rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful. "And I'm sure your hair is definitely naturally flattened by gravity, not squashed by that hat you refuse to take off."

Then Tyler turned around.

Maya's brain short-circuited. Her pulse was doing jumping jacks. Keep cool. Keep cool. You are a chill person. You are not currently losing your mind.

"Hey," Tyler said. "Are you running for student government rep?"

The words tumbled out. "Maybe? Probably? I haven't decided?"

"You should." He grinned, and Maya's heart did this extremely unhelpful little flip thing. "We need someone who actually cares. Plus you always have the best notes."

The bell rang. Maya grabbed her backpack and moved toward the door, moving faster than necessary, almost running away from the moment that had just turned her entire worldview sideways. Tyler noticed her. Tyler thought she was smart.

Outside, the wind caught Maya's hat.

Time slowed down like one of those dramatic movie scenes. The beanie lifted. Her hair exploded into its natural state – a magnificent, unapologetic cloud of frizz. Her stomach dropped. This was it. The end of her social life. She'd have to move to another state. Maybe change her name.

But then Tyler caught up to her.

"You dropped this." He held out her hat. "Also, your hair is actually kind of iconic."

Maya froze. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, it looks cool. Way more interesting than hiding it." He shrugged. "So, student government meeting Thursday? I'll save you a seat."

Walking away, Maya's fingers found her hair. She ran them through the curls, feeling them spring back, wild and unapologetic.

Jazz appeared beside her, grinning like she'd just won the lottery. "So... we're definitely running for rep, right?"