The Bear in My Backpack

My hair looked like a hedgehog had exploded on my head. I'd spent forty-five minutes with the flatiron this morning, but humidity had other plans.

"You look fine, Maya," said Sophie, barely looking up from her phone as we walked toward the padel courts. "It's just Jordan. He's not gonna care what your hair looks like."

Sophie was my best friend, but sometimes she didn't get it. She'd been dating Lucas since sixth grade. I'd been crushing on Jordan since September, and we'd barely said ten words to each other.

The padel courts were already buzzing with weekend energy. Jordan was there, laughing at something Sarah said. Sarah, who had perfect beach waves that actually behaved. Sarah, who was currently standing way too close to Jordan.

"Whatever," I muttered. "Let's just play."

We'd been playing for twenty minutes when my backpack fell over. Everything spilled out—my water bottle, my phone, and Mr. Cuddles.

Mr. Cuddles was the teddy bear my grandma gave me when I was seven. He'd seen me through chicken pox, my parents' divorce, and every bad haircut in middle school. I still slept with him every night.

There was a moment of silence. Then Sarah started laughing. Not just a giggle—a full-on wheeze.

"Is that a teddy bear?" she gasped. "Are you serious right now?"

My face burned. I scrambled to stuff everything back in my bag, but my hands were shaking. This was it. This was when I became known as Teddy Bear Girl for the rest of high school.

Then Jordan picked up Mr. Cuddles.

"Dude," he said, handing him to me. "I still sleep with the stuffed shark my aunt got me when I was five. His name is Chompy."

Sarah stopped laughing.

"Really?" I asked, my voice weirdly small.

"Yeah." Jordan shrugged. "Whatever gets you through, right?"

Sophie grinned at me. I looked at my frizzy hair in my phone reflection, at Mr. Cuddles tucked safely in my bag, at Jordan who'd just admitted to sleeping with a stuffed shark named Chompy.

Maybe being yourself wasn't so scary after all. Even when your hair looked like a hedgehog had exploded on it.