Summer of the Orange Fox

Maya's hair had seen better days. Three days at Camp Pine Lake and she'd already managed to turn her curls into what her little brother called "a bird's nest that survived a hurricane."

"You look fine, Maya," Chloe said, not looking up from her phone. They'd been friends since kindergarten, but lately Chloe seemed more interested in her camp followers than their actual friendship.

The dining hall served papaya at breakfast. Maya hated papaya—it tasted like soap wrapped in disappointment. But she ate it anyway because everyone else did, and that's what you did when you were fifteen and desperately trying to disappear.

Then she saw him.

Ethan. The boy who'd smiled at her during orientation. He was sitting with the popular crowd, laughing at something, his messy dark hair falling into his eyes. Why did boys always get away with looking effortless while Maya had to straighten, curl, and pray her hair cooperated?

Later at swimming, Maya positioned herself at the edge of the dock. She wasn't a strong swimmer, and the lake looked suspiciously dark. Ethan cannonballed in, surfacing with a grin.

"Hey! You coming in?"

"Maybe!" she called back, lying through her teeth.

That's when it happened. A rustle in the bushes. An actual fox—orange fur, pointy ears, totally unfazed by twenty screaming teenagers—trotted onto the dock and grabbed Maya's towel.

"Hey!" she yelled.

The fox gave her a look. Like, *really, human?* And trotted off with her towel.

Everyone stared. Then Ethan started laughing. Not mean laughing—he was doubled over, genuinely losing it. Maya felt her face burn.

But then something shifted. The other kids started laughing too, and suddenly it wasn't Maya being the weirdo. It was all of them, together, watching this fox steal her towel like it was completely normal.

"Dude," Ethan said, swimming to the dock. "That fox just owned you."

Maya surprised herself. "He has good taste. It's my favorite towel."

Ethan laughed again, but softer this time. "I'm Ethan, by the way."

"Maya."

"Want to come swimming? I promise not to steal your towel."

Somewhere in the trees, the fox chattered. Maya jumped in, hair and all, and for the first time all summer, she didn't care what anyone thought.

Her hair was a disaster, her towel was gone, and she'd just made a complete fool of herself in front of the cutest guy at camp.

But honestly? It was kind of perfect.