The Girl with the Neon Pink Hair

Zara's hair was supposed to be caramel brown. Instead, it came out neon pink. Three days before freshman year, she'd grabbed the wrong box at the drugstore in a panic, and now she looked like a walking highlighter.

"You look... bold," her mom had said, which was mom-speak for "what did you DO to yourself?"

Zara spent the entire first week of school wearing hoodies, letting her pink hair escape in tufts that she kept trying to tuck back. But then Leo noticed.

"Your hair," he said in AP Bio, tapping her desk with his pen. "It's actually kinda sick."

Leo, who played padel every weekend with the popular crowd. Leo, whose Instagram had 2,000 followers. Leo, who Zara had been lowkey spying on through his public profile for months, liking his posts from her finsta so he wouldn't know.

"Thanks," Zara managed, while internally screaming. "My mom hates it."

"Wanna play padel with us this Saturday?" Leo asked. "We need a fourth."

Zara said yes before she could overthink it.

Saturday arrived with stomach-flipping intensity. She showed up at the courts wearing her sister's old athletic gear (because Zara didn't own anything that said "I play sports") and her pink hair pulled into a high pony that bounced when she walked.

Leo was there. And Maya, who Zara had sat behind in English last year. And some sophomore whose name started with a J.

"You ready for this?" Leo grinned, tossing her a racquet. "Fair warning: Maya's secretly ruthless."

"Excuse me," Maya said, "but SOME of us don't need to flex about being good at things."

They played. Zara missed the first three balls. But then her body remembered — summer camp, age twelve, when paddle tennis had been her entire personality. Her reflexes kicked in. She started returning shots. She started making shots.

"Okay, who ARE you?" Maya laughed when Zara nailed a corner shot that Leo couldn't reach.

Leo high-fived her. "Told you your hair gave you powers."

Afterward, dripping with sweat and feeling weirdly light, Zara checked her phone. Leo had posted a photo of their group on the padel court, everyone mid-laugh. Her pink hair was visible, bright and unapologetic.

@leo_vasquez: New padel squad member 🎾 Also @zara.kim's hair is literally goals.

Her phone buzzed.

Maya: Spy mission successful. We've been trying to get you to hang out since English class last year. You're coming next Saturday, right?

Zara stared at her screen, grinning like an idiot. Some situationships fell apart. Others built you back together, neon pink hair and all.

She typed back: Bet.