The Filter-Free Friday

Maya's mom stood in the kitchen doorway, holding out the orange bottle like it was a peace offering.

"Your vitamin, sweetie. Dr. Patel says it'll help with the... you know."

Maya swallowed the massive pill without water, barely suppressing a gag. The only thing Dr. Patel had actually said was that Maya's stress levels were "concerning for a fifteen-year-old," which, fair. Between finals week and the group project that Sierra was definitely going to sabotage, Maya was operating on a permanent tightrope of anxiety.

She pulled her beanie down lower. The hat was doing double duty today: hiding the fact that she hadn't washed her hair in three days, and somehow making her feel more fortified against the world. Like armor, but soft and gray.

Her iphone buzzed in her pocket. The group chat was blowing up.

sierra_: r u coming?? we're literally waiting

maya4: on my way!! traffic is insane lol

The lie slid out easy. There was no traffic. She was standing in her kitchen, heart hammering, because her hair looked like a bird's nest and she'd spent forty-five minutes trying to fix it and somehow made it worse.

Another notification.

sierra_: [image attached]

Maya's stomach dropped. The photo showed everyone at Chloe's house—Chloe, Sierra, even Tyler—sitting around Chloe's pristine kitchen island with matching smoothie bowls. The caption read: "smoothie sunday w the besties 💕✨"

They'd reposted it to their finstas. The comments were already rolling in.

"relationship goals"

"omg friend group MATERIAL"

Maya was tagged. She wasn't in the picture.

The vitamin was making her feel weirdly flushed, or maybe that was just the humiliation. She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door, halfway resigned to showing up looking like a disaster and letting them make whatever comments they'd make.

"Maya?" Her mom's voice was soft. "You know you don't have to go if you're having a bad mental health day."

And wasn't that the thing? Maya had been faking fine for so long that she'd forgotten how to say it out loud: I'm not okay. I haven't been okay for months. Your friend group makes you feel small and you don't know how to leave because being alone feels worse.

She adjusted her hat, unlocked her phone, and typed:

maya4: actually not feeling great today, staying home. have fun tho!!

Her thumb hovered over send. She thought about Tyler's laugh when she'd dropped her tray in the cafeteria last week. Sierra's eye roll whenever Maya spoke. Chloe's perfect smoothie bowls.

Maya pressed send.

Then she took off the hat, ran a hand through her messy hair, and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Mom? Can we make pancakes?"