The Bear Under the Bed

The first time Maya cut her hair, she used kitchen scissors and prayed her mom wouldn't notice. The second time, she went to Supercuts and told the stylist, 'Short. Like, really short.' The stylist asked if she was sure. Maya said yes.

Now her hair was barely there—a soft fuzz against her palm when she ran her hands over her head. Her brother said she looked like a bear. Not like a cute bear. A weird one.

She kept the bear comment to herself when she met up with Jada behind the bleachers during the baseball game. The whole school was there, screaming everytime someone hit the ball, but Maya and Jada were sitting on the cold ground sharing wired earbuds, watching downloaded episodes of that show they'd binge-watched on cable back when they were twelve.

'Do you think she noticed?' Jada asked, pointing at the outfield.

Maya followed her gaze. Riley, the girl Jada had been crushing on since seventh grade, stood with her glove ready, her ponytail swinging in the wind.

'She's looking at you,' Maya said, and she wasn't even lying.

'No she's not. I'm literally behind a dumpster.'

'A romantic dumpster.'

Jada groaned. 'You're the worst. Also, I like your hair.'

Maya's hand went to her head automatically. 'Yeah?'

'It's brave.' Jada paused. 'I'm thinking of getting mine cut too. Maybe not bear-short, but—'

'BEAR-short?'

'Shut up.' Jada pushed her, laughing. 'But seriously. What if—'

'JADA!' Someone yelled. They both looked up. Riley was walking toward them, baseball cap backwards, grinning like she'd just won the lottery. 'You coming or what? We're getting pizza after.'

Jada's face went bright red. Maya felt something in her chest—warm and weird, like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

'Go,' Maya said. 'I'll catch up.'

As Jada walked away, grinning like an idiot, Maya touched her hair again. Soft. Brave. Hers. The baseball game faded behind her, and for the first time, she didn't wish she was anyone else.