Orange Hair & Papaya Secrets

Maya felt like a zombie walking into the cafeteria, running on three hours of sleep because she'd been up until 2 AM scrolling through Kai's Instagram archive. Again. She was basically a professional social media spy at this point, analyzing every caption like they contained hidden messages.

"Your hair looks insane today," Jules said, sliding into the seat across from her. "Like, actually fire."

Maya self-consciously touched the orange streaks she'd impulsively dyed over the weekend. She'd been going for subtle sunset vibes and ended up looking like a traffic cone. "It's too much, isn't it? Everyone's staring."

"They're staring because it looks sick, Maya. You never do stuff like this." Jules peeled open her yogurt. "Anyway, did you see Kai's story? He posted that papaya smoothie bowl again."

Maya's stomach did that stupid flippy thing. "I saw it."

"You should talk to him," Jules said, for the eight billionth time. "You literally have photography club together on Thursdays. It's not that deep."

"I can't just talk to him," Maya hissed. "What would I even say? 'Hey, I love your papaya content, also I've had a crush on you since September and I may have accidentally liked a photo from 2019 while stalking your account'?"

Jules cackled. "Okay, first of all, we all know about the 2019 like. Second, you're spiraling. Just be normal."

Normal. Right. Maya spotted Kai across the cafeteria, laughing with his friends, sunlight catching his messy brown hair. He looked so unbothered, while she was over here dissecting every interaction like it was a final exam.

Her phone buzzed. A notification from Kai: "Hey! I saw your hair from across the caf. It looks awesome 🧡 Also did you finish the photo assignment?"

Maya stared at her screen. The orange comment was cute, but the fact that he'd noticed her at all? That was everything.

"Jules," she whispered. "I think I'm going to talk to him."

"Finally! I was about to lose my mind watching you be a zombie over him forever. Go!"

Maya stood up, heart pounding, orange hair and all. Maybe tomorrow she'd even try that papaya smoothie.