The Bear Suit Incident

The bear costume smelled like middle school locker room and desperation. Maya cinched the zipper tight, sweat already prickling her forehead. Only reason she'd agreed to work at the local honey farm's fall festival was because Tyler's shift overlapped hers. Tyler, who'd barely looked at her since seventh period English when her voice cracked mid-presentation.

"You look ridiculous," said Fox, the new girl who'd been assigned fox costume duty. Fox wasn't her real name, obviously, but she leaned into the whole sly fox energy. Her orange wig was slightly crooked. "No offense."

"None taken." Maya's voice came out muffled through the bear snout. "We're literally getting paid minimum wage to wear polyester while toddlers poke us."

"Plot twist," Fox said, checking her iphone beneath her fox mask. "Tyler just posted on his story. He's at some party in the orchard. Not here."

Maya's stomach did that thing where it felt like it was downloading a massive file on 3G. "He said he'd be working today."

"Girl, people lie. Welcome to high school." Fox adjusted her tail. "Want me to stream it?"

The video showed Tyler. He was vibing, golden hour lighting everything, actual pumpkins in the background. And there was Jessica—perfect, blonde, always-smelling-like-vanilla Jessica—laughing at something he said. The comments were already filling up. ship ship ship couple goals.

Maya's bear suit suddenly felt heavy, like actual heavy, like she was bearing the weight of every crush who'd never noticed her, every party she wasn't invited to, every moment she'd spent constructing elaborate daydreams that were never gonna happen.

"Screw this," Maya said, and started unbear-ing herself from the costume.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the orchard. I'm going as me. Not as a giant bear." Maya stepped out of the costume, wearing her vintage band tee and cutoffs underneath. "If Tyler wants to talk to me, he can talk to the actual me. Not some mascot."

"That's cringe, but also kinda iconic." Fox paused. "Can I come?" She already had her fox mask halfway off, revealing actual fox-eye makeup. "I wasn't invited either."

"Bet."

They walked through the orchard, orange leaves crunching under their sneakers, two girls who'd just met, both of them tired of waiting for things to happen to them. Maya's phone buzzed in her pocket—Tyler had posted again. She didn't check it.

Sometimes you have to take off the costume. Sometimes you have to stop being who everyone expects you to be and just show up as yourself, nervous elbows and all, ready to be seen.