Orange Fox at the Party

The party was already low-key awkward when Maya spotted the papaya. Like, who serves exotic fruit at a high school house party? But there it sat on the snack table, this weird tropical island in a sea of Doritos and stale pizza.

Maya grabbed a slice, mostly for something to do with her hands. She was supposed to be having the time of her life — this was Tyler's party, and Tyler had finally noticed her existence this semester when they got paired as lab partners. But now he was across the room, laughing with his friends, and Maya was stuck eating fruit that tasted like shampoo.

"Nice choice."

Maya jumped. Standing next to her was Fox — everyone called him that because of his impossible bright orange hair and those sharp green eyes that seemed to see right through people. They'd had math together freshman year, before he'd transferred to the alternative school. People said he'd gotten expelled, but nobody knew why.

"It's disgusting," Maya said, then immediately regretted it. Why was she being so blunt?

Fox laughed, and it was this actual genuine sound, not the fake polite laugh most kids did. "Yeah, Tyler's mom buys all this weird health stuff. Last time she made kale chips that tasted like lawn clippings."

Maya relaxed a little. "So you know Tyler?"

"We're cousins," Fox said, leaning against the wall. "Which means I've known him since we were four, and I can confirm with absolute certainty that he's not worth stressing over."

Heat rushed to Maya's face. Was it that obvious?

"You've been staring at him all night," Fox continued, not meanly. Just... factual. "Meanwhile, he's over there telling everyone about his new truck, which is basically his entire personality."

Maya looked down at her papaya slice. "He's just... I don't know. Everyone thinks he's so great."

Fox shrugged. "Yeah, well, everyone also thought that giving that bull a permanent pass to the cafeteria was a good idea until it chased the sophomore class across the parking lot. Popular opinion isn't always — what's the word — reliable?"

Maya snorted before she could stop herself. "Oh my god, I forgot about that. Principal Davis was so mad."

Their eyes met, and for the first time all night, Maya didn't feel like she was performing something. She was just... hanging out.

"Hey," Fox said suddenly. "My band is playing at the garage on Saturday. You should come. No papaya, I promise."

Maya felt something unfamiliar and electric in her chest. "Like, as your friend?"

Fox's orange hair caught the light as he tilted his head. "Or whatever. Just... you know. If you want."

Across the room, Tyler was doing some party trick to impress people. Maya looked back at Fox, at his easy confidence and the way he didn't seem to care what anyone thought.

"Yeah," she said, and actually meant it. "I want."

And as she took another bite of papaya — still gross, but whatever — Maya realized that sometimes the best things aren't the ones you're expecting at all.