Orange Hair Dye & Sunday Night Texts

The orange hair dye sat on my bathroom counter like a dare. One box of Feria 'Intense Auburn' that my mom would definitely question, but Riley had sworn was perfect for my reinvention plan. Freshman year was two weeks away, and Maya Chen — who I'd been third-wheeling with since sixth grade — had already posted five selfies with her new high school friends.

I grabbed my iPhone, thumb hovering over Riley's name. Still left on read since Thursday. The three dots that used to appear instantly now felt like ghosts.

My little brother's goldfish, Captain Fin, stared at me from his bowl on the windowsill. He'd outlived three previous tankmates and somehow seemed more resilient than my friendships.

'You gonna use that?' My brother leaned against the doorframe, pointing at the dye.

'Shut up, Tyler.' I pulled the beanie hat lower over my unwashed hair — the same one I'd worn for three days straight.

'Maya's having people over Saturday,' he said casually. 'Saw it on her Insta.' He paused. 'You're not going, are you?'

The question hit harder than it should've.

My phone buzzed. Riley. Finally.

'dye it 🔥 but not alone come over'

I stared at the screen. Either she'd been busy, or she hadn't. Either way, she was here now.

Captain Fin swam to the front of his bowl, orange scales catching the afternoon light. Something about his tiny, determined movement made me grab the dye box.

'Wait,' I called after Tyler. 'Does Maya's thing start at seven?'

He turned back, grinning. 'Why? You thinking of crashing?'

'Maybe.' I peeled the box open. 'After.'