The Hat Trick

Maya's sister Lena had butchered her **hair** during what was supposed to be a simple trim. Now uneven chunks fell at her jawline like she'd lost a fight with a lawnmower, and she was stuck wearing her dad's old Braves cap until it grew out enough to not look like a cry for help.

Worst timing ever: Tyler, who she'd been lowkey flirting with since August, had invited her to the varsity **baseball** game that Friday. He was pitching. The boy who made heart eyes at her during English was about to see her looking like a rejected extra from a post-apocalyptic movie.

She went anyway. She sat with Chloe in the bleachers, sweating through her favorite hoodie and tugging her **hat** lower every time Tyler glanced toward the stands between innings. The brim shadowed her face like a personal eclipse. Chloe was loudly cheering for a team she couldn't name three players from, living her best life while Maya died inside.

After the game—which they actually won—Tyler jogged over, jersey stained with dirt, hair damp with sweat. His friends hovered near the dugout, waiting. "Hey! I didn't see you at first."

Before Maya could react, he'd reached out and flicked the brim of her hat up.

Maya froze. Braced for it. The look. The comment. The way his smile might falter when he saw what Lena had done. The way everything between them might shift from potential to pity in one second.

Tyler just blinked. Then he grinned. "Nice haircut. Who's your stylist? My cousin's been looking for someone who can do that messy-chic thing, and honestly, I think she'd be into this vibe."

Maya let out a breath she'd been holding since the second inning. "Lena. My sister. She owes me big time."

"You should tell her to charge extra." He shifted his weight. "You coming to Jake's afterward? Everyone's going."

Maya glanced at Chloe, who was already nodding enthusiastically and texting someone.

"Yeah," she said. "I think I will."

That night, with her **cat** Luna curled on her pillow and the tank of **goldfish** her brother had won at the carnival glowing softly across the room, Maya texted Lena: You still owe me. But thanks, actually.

Her hair would grow back. But tonight, for the first time in forever, she felt like she could finally breathe.