The Hat Came Off

The baseball cap was pulled low—almost dangerously low—over Maya's eyes as she stood at the edge of the **pool**, clutching her towel like a lifeline. Tyler's annual summer bash. The invite list had apparently expanded to half the school.

"Maya! You coming in or what?" Tyler called, doing a cannonball that soaked three unsuspecting sophomores.

She tugged the **hat** lower. It was her shield. Her weird-girl camouflage. Without it, she was just Maya, who'd accidentally worn her gym shorts inside out on the first day of freshman year and never lived it down.

Then chaos erupted.

"REX! NO!" someone screamed.

A golden retriever burst through the back gate, unleashed and unstoppable, making a beeline straight for the chip table. Tyler's **dog**, Baxter, immediately joined the rebellion, and suddenly there were two canines tearing through the party like they owned the place.

Rex snatched a bag of Doritos and took off.

"Someone grab him!"

Maya didn't think. She just moved.

She was **running** before her brain caught up, cutting across the wet concrete, dodging confused partygoers, vaulting over a lounge chair. She'd been running cross-country since seventh grade, body on autopilot, legs pumping, sneakers gripping the pavement. Rex wasn't getting away.

She cornered him near the fence line and scooped him up, Doritos scattering everywhere. He went limp instantly, tail wagging like this had been the plan all along.

When she walked back, holding the triumphant dog, the whole party was watching.

No one mentioned her gym shorts. No one made fun of her drenched shirt or the fact that her hat had fallen off somewhere near the diving board.

"Dude," Tyler said, grinning. "That was actually sick."

Someone tossed her a Dr. Pepper. Someone else high-fived her.

Maya stood there, dog in arms, hat missing, completely exposed. And for the first time in two years, she didn't mind.