The Mascot Mishap

Maya's vintage bucket **hat** sat crooked on her head—her armor, her vibe, her entire personality at this party. She'd spent forty-five minutes curating the perfect fit. Now she was regretting everything.

"You look like you're about to rob a vending machine," said Tyler, which wasn't helpful.

The bathroom mirror reflected someone trying too hard. Her **iPhone** buzzed in her pocket. *Dakota:* "R U coming? Everyone's asking where u are lol."

Maya typed back with shaking thumbs: "Yeah b there soon" then immediately deleted it and typed: "On my way" then deleted that too and just sent a thumbs up. Cool. Casual. Not freaking out.

This was it. Junior year Homecoming. Dakota had been her crush since sixth period English when they'd reached for the same **orange** in the cafeteria fruit bowl. Their hands had brushed. Dakota had smiled. Maya had said "uhhh" and basically sprinted away.

Smooth.

Tonight she was finally gonna make her move.

But first, the school mascot situation.

The West High **Bear** costume—essentially a furry monstrosity that smelled like every basketball season since 2007—was sitting in the corner of the bathroom. Maya was supposed to wear it for the halftime show. She'd volunteered because apparently self-sabotage was her brand now.

"Your head's gonna look huge in that," Tyler called from the hallway.

"Thanks, Ty. Really helpful."

She wrestled into the costume. It was exactly as uncomfy as it looked. Through the mesh eyes, she could see herself in the mirror—a very fashionable bear now. The hat was tucked in her pocket, barely surviving.

Her phone lit up again. Dakota was calling.

Maya answered, voice muffled by the bear head. "Hello?"

"Maya? Where are you? We're taking group pics and nobody's seen you—"

"I'm literally in the bear costume, Dakota."

Silence. Then: "What."

"It's a whole situation."

"You're wearing the bear?"

"Yes."

"...You're actually so random."

"Is that good random or bad random?"

Dakota laughed. Maya's stomach did that thing where it forgot how to be an organ. "Good random. Can you come out though? Everyone's waiting."

Maya squeezed her eyes shut behind the mesh. "Okay but if this is weird—"

"It's gonna be weird. That's kind of the point."

So Maya the Bear waddled out to the gym floor. Someone immediately started playing the school fight song. A freshman asked for a selfie. She adjusted her crooked bear head, spotted Dakota in the crowd, Dakota who was already smiling at her, and thought: yeah. Maybe this wasn't the disaster she'd built it up to be.

Later, Dakota would peel an orange and offer her a slice, bear costume long abandoned, Maya's hat back where it belonged. And they'd both laugh about the bear photos that would absolutely haunt her forever.

But for now? Maya took a deep breath, posed for like seventeen selfies, and embraced the chaos.