The Fox That Wasn't

I wasn't supposed to be at Tyler's party. But here I was, wearing this stupid vintage **hat** I'd thrifted as armor—some floppy beige thing with a ridiculous feather that made me look like I'd escaped from a colonial reenactment. Whatever. It hid my face, and that was the point.

I'd swallowed an emergency **vitamin** D supplement in the parking lot because my mom was convinced my social anxiety was actually just deficiency. Right. Because that's why I couldn't talk to Tyler without my voice cracking.

The party was already in full swing when I slipped through the back door. That's when I saw it—a massive inflatable **goldfish** pool float bobbing in the middle of Tyler's living room, surrounded by people taking selfies. Someone had drawn sharpie sunglasses on it.

"Nice hat," said Sasha from my history class, appearing beside me with red solo cup in hand. "Very... mysterious."

"Thanks," I mumbled, tugging the brim lower.

"You know Tyler's cousin is here," she said. "From LA. Everyone says he's a total **fox**."

I choked on nothing. "Did you just say fox? Who says fox anymore? Are we living in 2004?"

Sasha laughed. "Okay, boomer. But seriously, he's cute. And he's staring at you."

I peeked under the hat's brim. There he was—some gorgeous guy in a cutoff hoodie, actually looking at me. Me. In the colonial hat.

He walked over, grinning. "I like your style. It's bold."

"It's thrifted," I said automatically. "Only four dollars."

"Even better," he said. "I'm Mateo, by the way. Tyler's cousin."

We talked for an hour. About music, about how his goldfish back home had once lived seven years, about how I'd started wearing ridiculous hats to hide but somehow they'd become my thing.

"You know," Mateo said, "you don't need the hat. You've got this whole energy that's already—"

"Cringe?"

"No," he smiled. "Brilliant."

Later, Sasha found me by the inflatable goldfish, hat finally off, head finally up. "So? How was the fox?"

"Actually pretty awesome," I admitted. "Also, apparently foxes are back in style."

She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I—never mind."

I didn't wear the hat to school on Monday. Vitamin D or not, I was done hiding.