The Bear in the Baseball Cap

Maya's palms were sweating. Again. She wiped them on her jeans, grabbed the door handle, and reminded herself that today was the day she'd finally stop *running* from her anxiety.

"You got this,Maya," she whispered, adjusting her lucky baseball *hat* — the one that had seen her through panic attacks, awkward crush encounters, and that time she'd accidentally farted in study hall.

The hallway was crowded. Maya kept her head down, dodging through clusters of juniors like a secret agent on a mission. Which, honestly, she was. For the past month, she'd been basically a *spy* on Instagram, analyzing Riley's stories to figure out if they'd broken up with Jordan yet. (Answer: still unclear.)

"Maya! Wait up!"

It was Riley. Maya's stomach did that thing where it forgot how to organ. This was it. The moment she'd been overthinking for three weeks straight.

Riley jogged over, wearing that vintage jacket that made everything look intentional. "Hey, so I was gonna ask—"

The PA system crackled. "ATTENTION STUDENTS. The varsity football game is CANCELLED due to an incident with the mascot."

Maya blinked. "Wait, what happened to Bernie?"

"Apparently," Riley said, fighting back laughter, "the guy in the *bear* costume got his head stuck in a vending machine trying to steal a Snickers."

Maya started giggling. She couldn't help it. The image of the school *bear*, that fuzzy embodiment of school spirit, trapped and defeated by a vending machine...

Riley was laughing too. And then their hands brushed, and suddenly Maya's anxiety wasn't *running* the show anymore. The *palm* of her hand pressed against Riley's, warm and real and not at all like she'd imagined in her seventeen different what-if scenarios.

"So," Riley said, "the game's off. Want to hang out instead?"

Maya smiled, tugging her *hat* brim lower to hide her blush. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Sometimes, she realized, the scariest missions were the ones worth taking. Even if you had to be a total *spy* about your feelings until you didn't. And sometimes, you just had to stop running and let the *bear* in the vending machine distract everyone while you made your move.