Sweaty Palms & Standing Tall

My palms were literally sweating through my denim shorts. Again.

"You're overthinking it," Maya said, tossing her backpack onto the bench next to me. "Bryson's not gonna notice anything unless you make it weird."

Easy for her to say. Maya wasn't the one who'd accidentally sent Bryson a screenshot of their Spotify blend with way too many heart-eye emojis. At 2:37 AM. On a Tuesday.

I checked my phone. Still no reply. Because OF COURSE there was no reply. Because I was obviously unhinged.

"My dog has better game than I do," I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "Buster literally barks at the mailman and gets more attention."

Maya snorted. "Buster also eats his own poop, so. Maybe not the benchmark we want."

I was about to counter with Buster's extremely valid redeeming qualities when the bell rang. We grabbed our stuff and headed to third period, which meant walking past the quad where Bryson and his friends always hung out. Because the universe hated me.

And there he was. Standing with Tyler and some other guys from the football team. Tyler — who I'd once heard making fun of Maya's acrylics in the locker room. Tyler, who thought being loud was the same as being funny.

"Hey, April," Tyler called out as we walked past. "Nice shirt. Did you get that at the-"

"She got it at this boutique in Silver Lake," Bryson interrupted, not even looking at Tyler. "She told me about it last week. It's from that sustainable brand, right?"

I froze. I WHAT NOW?

"Uh, yeah," I managed, my brain doing somersaults. "Exactly that."

"Cool," Bryson said, actually making eye contact with me. "Small world."

"Wait, you talked to April about sustainable fashion?" Tyler looked genuinely confused. "Since when do you care about-"

"Since I started actually listening instead of being a bull in a china shop," Bryson shot back. "Maybe try it sometime."

Maya's jaw literally dropped. Tyler's face went bright red. Bryson just kept walking toward me, a tiny smirk playing on his lips.

"So," he said, stopping in front of me. "About that Spotify blend..."