The Hat Incident

Maya stared at her reflection, finger-combing her frizzy hair for the tenth time. The party started in twenty minutes and her curls were doing that awkward half-poof thing, like she'd stuck her finger in an electrical socket. Again.

"Just wear the hat," Chloe texted. "No one cares."

Maya grabbed the oversized beanie from her hook—the one with the ridiculous bear patch on the front that her little sister had gotten her as a joke. The bear had this derpy expression, like it knew exactly how uncool it was and didn't even care.

Her neighbor's dog, Buster, barked at her through the fence as she sprinted to Chloe's car. Good old Buster, always judging.

The party was at Jake's house. Jake, who'd smiled at her in chemistry on Tuesday. Jake, who probably didn't even remember her name.

The hat was a mistake. She could feel it the moment she walked in. Someone's uncle was DJing badly—actual Cha Cha Slide bad—and the kitchen smelled like cheap cologne and nervous energy. Maya kept pulling the hat lower, like it could somehow make her invisible.

"Nice bear," someone said behind her.

Maya turned around. Jake. Of course it was Jake, looking annoyingly perfect in his flannel shirt. The party suddenly felt way too loud.

"Thanks?" She winced. Why did everything come out as a question around him?

He grinned, pointing at her hat. "My little sister has that same one. She wears it when she's having a bad hair day."

Maya's face burned. "Wow. Thanks for that."

"No, I didn't mean—" Jake stepped closer, dropping his voice. "I mean, it's kind of a mood. Like, I get it. My hair does this thing in humidity where I look like I stuck a fork in an electrical outlet."

She laughed. Actually laughed.

"Show me tomorrow," she said, before she could overthink it. "Prove it."

Jake's face lit up. "Deal."

Maya walked home later, hair messy from dancing, the stupid bear hat somewhere in Chloe's car. Buster barked at her again, and this time she barked back.

Her phone buzzed. Jake: Don't forget the hair evidence. I'll bring backup hats. Just in case.

She grinned at the screen. Maybe being visible wasn't so bad after all.