The Girl With Orange Hair

Maya stared at her reflection, running fingers through her newly-dyed orange hair. It wasn't just orange — it was ORANGE. Like traffic-cone, safety-vest, absolutely-no-missing-this orange. Her mom had nearly fainted when she walked out of the bathroom.

"You look like a pumpkin," her little brother had snorted.

Whatever. At least people would notice her now. That was the point, right?

At school that Monday, Maya walked into the cafeteria like she was entering the Hunger Games arena. Every eye turned. She grabbed a tray and spotted Jordan at their usual table — except today Jordan was sitting with THE SPHINX. That's what Maya and her friends called Alexei, the exchange student who sat at the back of AP English, brooding and mysterious and completely unreadable. The Sphinx.

Maya's stomach did that nervous flip-flop thing it always did when cute boys were involved. She slid into the seat across from Jordan, hyper-aware of her orange hair, her posture, her breathing.

"Love the new color," Jordan said. But Maya noticed Jordan's smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

Alexei looked up from his sketchbook. His eyes lingered on Maya's hair. "It's... bold."

Bold. That was one word for it. Disaster was another.

Maya stabbed at the cafeteria's mushy SPINACH on her plate. Why did school lunch always include the most embarrassing foods? She took a tiny bite, trying to look casual and cool and not like someone who was absolutely losing it inside.

"So," Jordan said, her voice doing that thing where it sounded sweet but wasn't, "me and Alexei were talking about the winter formal."

Of course they were. Of course Jordan was making her move. Maya pushed her food around her plate, the spinach suddenly looking like the most interesting thing in the world.

"Maya?" Alexei said.

She looked up. He was watching her, really watching her, not through her.

"Your hair," he said, "it reminds me of sunset. Where I'm from, sunsets are different. More... alive."

For the first time all day, Maya's shoulders relaxed. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He actually smiled. A real smile. "It's beautiful."

Jordan narrowed her eyes. Maya felt it — that tiny moment where everything shifted. The spinach on her plate didn't matter. The nervousness didn't matter. She had orange hair and a cute boy noticed her and maybe, just maybe, that was enough.