Orange Hair & Sweaty Palms

The orange hair hadn't been the plan. Originally, it was supposed to be sunset pink, subtle and indie. But the box had lied, and now Maya was staring at her reflection like it had personally betrayed her.

"You look... vibrant," her mom offered, which was mom-speak for "oh no."

Now Maya stood at the edge of the swimming pool, clutching her towel like a shield. The last-day-of-school party was in full swing—literally. Someone was swinging from the palm tree in Jensen's backyard, screaming lyrics to a song that came out two weeks ago. Everyone was there. Everyone including Kai, who'd started at their school in March and sat behind Maya in bio, tapping his baseball bat against his desk in this annoyingly rhythmic way that she'd somehow grown to love.

"Maya!" Jensen's little sister materialized beside her. "Your hair looks like a FANTA!"

"Thanks," Maya said weakly.

Her palms were sweating. Like, actually sweating. She wiped them on her shorts, which was gross, but also maybe she could just avoid everyone forever? She could become a hermit. Hermitude seemed viable.

Then she saw Kai. He was by the pool edge, baseball cap backwards, laughing at something. And then he was walking toward her, and Maya's heart did that thing where it forgot how to hearts.

"Hey," he said. "I like your hair."

"It was supposed to be pink," she blurted. "The box lied."

"Orange is better." Kai grinned. "More... you."

Maya felt something weird happen in her chest, like warmth expanding. "You think?"

"I know." He adjusted his cap, looked away, then back. "So, you going in? Or are you gonna hold that towel all night?"

She looked at the pool, the palm tree, the way the pool lights made everything shimmer. She thought about bio class, about tapping pencils, about how she'd spent all year waiting for something to happen.

Maya dropped her towel.

"Race you," she said.

Kai laughed, surprised. "You're on."

She jumped into the water, orange hair flowing behind her like something accidental and perfect, and for the first time all year, Maya didn't feel like waiting anymore.