Summer Storm at the Courts

Maya's new fringe was a disaster. She'd tried to cut it herself after watching seventeen YouTube tutorials, but now she looked like a confused poodle. Her mom had dropped her off at the Palm Beach Resort with a sympathetic smile and a promise that "hair grows back, sweetie."

Great. Thanks, Mom.

The resort was packed with influencers and perfect-looking teens who definitely didn't have choppy bangs. Maya spent the first day hiding in her room, until her dad literally dragged her to the padel courts.

"You used to love tennis," he said, like it was still 2019 and everything was normal.

Padel was different—smaller court, walls you could hit off, somehow more chaotic. But that's when she saw him: Caleb, the guy from the cottage next door, playing shirtless with messy brown hair that actually looked good, unlike SOME people's hair.

The air felt charged, like the moment before lightning strikes. Maya stood there staring until she literally tripped over her own racket.

"You okay?" Caleb called out, grinning. Not like he was making fun of her, but like he actually found it cute.

" Totally," she lied, dusting off her knees. "Just testing gravity. Still works."

He laughed, and Maya's stomach did this weird flutter thing. They ended up playing mixed doubles, and during a break, he sat beside her on the bench. Their shoulders touched. His skin was warm.

"Your hair's actually pretty cool," he said, catching her off guard. "Different. I like it."

Maya's heart hammered against her ribs. No one had called her hair cool since the incident. Maybe—just possibly—being a mess wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Then the sky opened up. Real lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating everything in this electric purple flash. They ran for cover under the palm tree overhang, pressed together while rain poured down.

"This is totally random," Caleb said, wiping water from his face, "but I'm glad your dad forced you to come today."

Maya smiled, and for the first time all summer, she didn't think about her hair at all.