Orange Hair, Open Eyes

Maya's mom stood in the bathroom doorway, holding out those neon orange gummy vitamins like they were peace offerings. "You haven't taken them in a week, Maya. You're gonna get sick again."

Maya adjusted her beanie to cover the roots—bright copper orange, a total disaster of a DIY job that she'd somehow made iconic. "I'm good, Mom. Really."

Her mom sighed, defeated. "Okay. But don't come crying to me when—"

"Yeah, yeah. Got it."

The door clicked shut. Maya finally breathed, pulling out her phone. Her thumb hovered over Instagram, then opened the app. There it was: Jason's story from ten minutes ago. A sunset filtered pink. Caption: "someone's gotta see this."

Heart doing gymnastics. Again.

"You're literally acting like a spy," her best friend Riya had said yesterday. "It's borderline creepy, babe."

"I'm not stalking him," Maya had protested. "I'm just... gathering intel."

Riya rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. "That's literally what a spy DOES, Maya."

Whatever. Maya zoomed in on Jason's story, analyzing the background. Was that the coffee shop downtown? Was he with someone? Her detective skills were borderline impressive at this point—she'd spotted his favorite hoodie in three different girls' posts this month alone. (Okay, that sounded creepier out loud.)

Her phone buzzed. Jason.

hey, saw your story

Maya almost dropped her phone. Her hands shook. This was it—the moment her months of "intelligence gathering" finally paid off.

ur hair looks sick btw

She typed and deleted five different responses. Cool casual? Flirty chill? Or—

"Maya! Vitamin time!" her mom called from downstairs.

Maya groaned, but then—why fight it? She grabbed the bottle, shoved two orange gummies in her mouth. Maybe her mom was right about some things. Maybe growing up meant accepting the stuff that mattered, even when it wasn't cool.

thx, she typed back. DIY job gone right

wanna get coffee? the orange ones r my fave

Maya stared at her screen. The vitamin aftertaste was actually kind of good.

maybe she wasn't just a spy in the shadows anymore.

yeah, she typed. lets do it