Orange Cat Confidential

Maya's orange hair made her feel like a walking traffic cone. In a sea of beach-blondes and natural brunettes at Northwood High, she stuck out like a sore thumb. Every day was basically an exercise in being conspicuous without trying.

Which was exactly why she made such a good spy.

Not the cool, James Bond type of spy. More like the I-have-zero-social-capital-so-nobody-notices-me type. From her assigned seat in AP Bio, she'd been watching Caleb Chen for three months. He sat three rows ahead, two seats left. His hoodie rotation was fascinating. Today: navy blue. Yesterday: forest green. The guy had a color-coordinated life that made Maya's chaotic existence feel like a mess.

"You're being weird again," said Joss, sliding into the desk beside her. "Also, did you finish the lab worksheet?"

Maya blinked. "I'm not being weird. I'm conducting vital research."

"On Caleb's hoodie collection? Again?" Joss raised an eyebrow. "Girl, just talk to him already. We're literally halfway through junior year. At this rate, you'll graduate still watching from afar like a creepy spy."

"It's not creepy. It's tactical observation."

"It's creepy. You've been calling it 'tactical observation' since September."

That afternoon, Maya sat on her front porch, mood-eating cuties and procrastinating on her college essays. Her neighbor's cat—a calico named Bean who thought Maya's porch was personal property—hopped up and gave her that judgy look cats do perfectly.

"What? You think I should talk to him?" Maya peeled another orange segment. "Yeah, right. Have you SEEN his friend group? They're basically the United Nations of Cool. Meanwhile, I'm out here talking to a cat about my feelings."

Bean yawned, entirely unimpressed.

A skateboard rattled down the sidewalk. Caleb.

Maya froze. Do not make eye contact. Do not—

"Hey." Caleb stopped at her driveway. He was wearing burnt orange today. Burnt freaking orange.

"Hey," Maya managed. Her voice came out weird. "Cool hoodie."

"Thanks." He gestured at her hair. "I like your hair. It's... bright."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"No, I mean it's cool. My cousin dyes hers orange too. Says it's her 'don't mess with me' color." Caleb shrugged. "Anyway, Joss said you're really good at chem? I'm kinda failing the unit we're on."

Maya's brain short-circuited. "I could... help? If you want?"

"Yeah. That'd be sick."

Bean chose that moment to rub against Caleb's shin, purring like a motor.

"Friendly cat," said Caleb, reaching down to pet her. "What's her name?"

"Bean."

"Nice. I had a cat named Bean once. Well, my mom had a cat. Whatever." Caleb looked up, smiling. "So, tutoring? Maybe tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow works."

"Awesome. See you, Maya."

He skated off, and Maya sat there for a full minute, processing what had just happened. Bean hopped into her lap, demanding pets.

"You planned this, didn't you?" Maya whispered to the cat. "You're not just some random cat. You're a tactical genius."

Bean just purred like she'd known everything all along.

The spy phase was officially over. And Maya's orange hair? It was about to become the least interesting thing about her.