The Day I Called Bull

Maya's breath came in ragged gasps as she pounded down the dirt path, her lungs burning. Running was supposed to be her escape—just her, the trail, and the rhythm of her sneakers hitting earth. No expectations. No perfection. Just motion.

Her iPhone buzzed in her pocket, probably another notification from the group chat where everyone was pretending their lives were aesthetic af. She didn't stop running.

The path curved toward Old Man Henderson's property, and that's when she saw it—a massive bull standing squarely in the middle of the trail, watching her with what looked like mild interest. Maya skidded to a halt, heart suddenly racing for an entirely different reason.

She froze. The bull took a step forward.

"Oh hell no," she muttered, backing up slowly. Her foot caught on something—a thick cable snaking through the tall grass. Probably for Henderson's electric fence. The one that was supposed to keep bulls contained. The one that clearly wasn't working.

Her iPhone chimed again. A text from Tyler: *u coming to sarah's party? everyone's gonna be there*

Maya stared at the message, then at the bull, which was now sniffing the cable curiously. Something snapped inside her. All the pressure. The fake party persona she put on every weekend. The exhausting performance of being the chill, popular girl who had it together.

She typed back: *no. not tonight*

*???? u never miss parties. everything good?*

Maya looked at the bull, at the cable, at the endless blue sky above the fields. She thought about how she'd been running herself ragged trying to be everyone else's version of perfect.

*yeah,* she typed. *just realized something*

*what??*

She hit send on three letters: B-U-L.

*bull?*

*all of it,* she wrote. *the pretending. the performing. the ✨vibes✨. it's all bull.*

The bull snorted, turned away, and ambled back toward the pasture.

Maya stood there, chest heaving, not from running but from the terrifying, electric feeling of finally telling the truth. She pocketed her phone, turned around, and started running home—not away from anything, but toward something real.