Papaya Apocalypse at the Pre-Game

Kai's palms were sweating. Literally sweating. She wiped them on her denim shorts for the third time, leaving dark patches on her thighs.

"You good?" asked Jordan, her best friend since seventh grade, eyeing her skeptically.

"Yeah. Just nervous about the pre-game tonight," Kai said, though that wasn't entirely true. She was nervous about everything lately. About her new haircut (bangs she'd cut herself in a 2 AM spiral that looked more like a crime scene than a style choice). About the fact that Tyler from AP Chem had finally noticed her, but what if he thought she was weird? About the constant feeling that everyone else had life figured out and she was just faking it.

They were at Kai's house, getting ready for Jessica's party. Which wasn't actually a party, just a "pre-game" before the real thing, because apparently now you had to pre-game for the pre-game. Everything was so extra.

"My hair looks like a zombie attacked it," Kai groaned, pulling at her bangs.

Jordan laughed while applying lip gloss. "It's giving edgy. It's fine."

Kai sighed and reached for the fruit platter her mom had prepared. Because of course her mom thought a fruit platter was appropriate preparation for a high school gathering. Kai picked up something orange and unfamiliar.

"What is this?"

"Papaya," her mom called from the kitchen. "Try it! It's fancy!""So can confirm. Papaya is a mistake." Kai spit it into a napkin.

At least someone noticed her bangs. That counted for something, right?

Later that night, Tyler actually talked to her. Like, full sentences. Kai was pretty sure her palms were sweating again, but whatever. He said her hair looked "cool and different," which she chose to interpret as a compliment. Even Jordan gave her a thumbs-up from across the room.

Maybe this whole growing up thing wasn't about having it all figured out. Maybe it was just about surviving the papaya moments and finding friends who'd laugh with you through the awkward ones.

"Not bad for a zombie," Kai whispered to herself, catching her reflection in the bathroom mirror.