The Bear in the Beanies

Maya stood outside Jordan's house, heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. First house party of sophomore year, and she'd spent two hours straightening her hair only to throw on her dad's old beanie at the last second because her forehead looked weird. The hat was basically a security blanket at this point.

Inside, the bass vibrated through the floorboards. Someone — probably Tyler, because obviously — was already wearing that ridiculous bear costume from homecoming, the fuzzy brown head lolling as he laughed at something impossible to hear. Maya grabbed a Solo cup from the kitchen counter, fingers trembling, and poured herself some punch that smelled suspiciously like coconut and desperation.

"Nice hat," someone said. It was Riley, the junior with the perfect eyeliner and zeroed-in radar for social awkwardness.

"Thanks," Maya managed, then immediately knocked into a bowl of fruit salad. Papaya chunks scattered everywhere like tropical confetti, and Riley's eyebrows shot up.

"Smooth."

"I'm — I'll get that." Maya crouched down, face burning, and this was it, this was the moment she would go down in history as Papaya Girl, the girl who destroyed the fruit arrangement at Jordan's party.

"Here." A hand extended into her vision. Jordan himself, crouching beside her. "Let me help."

They cleaned up the mess together while the bass thumped and someone shouted about beer pong. Maya's cat, Barnaby, would be judging her so hard right now. He always did that thing where he stared at her with complete and utter disappointment whenever she did something stupid, which was often.

"You good?" Jordan asked, dropping the last piece of fruit into the trash.

"Yeah," Maya said, and realized she actually meant it. "Just. First party jitters, I guess."

"Hey, we've all been there." Jordan grinned, and maybe it was the LED lights or the adrenaline or the fact that she'd just made a complete fool of herself in front of literally everyone, but Maya felt something shift. Something clicked.

The bear-headed guy gave her a thumbs-up from across the room. Riley winked. And Maya adjusted her hat, finally, finally, breathed out.

She could do this. She could absolutely do this.