The Mechanical Bull in Room 204

Maya's hair had a mind of its own that day, exploding in a frizzy halo after she'd spent forty-five minutes with the straightening iron. She stood outside the gym doors, listening to the bass thumping from inside, seriously considering just going home. It was the first dance of freshman year, and everyone would be there.

"You're not seriously bailing, are you?" Jacey appeared beside her, looking perfect in her curls and leopard print dress. "I promise no one's looking at your hair."

"Easy for you to say," Maya muttered. "Your hair actually listens to you."

Jacey reached into her purse and pulled out a gummy bear shaped like a star. "Here. It's a confidence vitamin. My cousin swears by them."

Maya stared at it. "That's literally just a gummy bear."

"It's a CONFIDENCE gummy bear," Jacey insisted, popping one into her own mouth. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen? We go in, you survive three awkward songs, we get pizza."

Inside, the gym was transformed into something that tried desperately to look like a county fair, complete with a suspicious mechanical bull in the corner that no one was brave enough to try yet. Maya felt every eye on her frizzy hair as they navigated toward the punch bowl.

That's when she saw Tyler—her crush since seventh grade—standing near the mechanical bull with his friends, laughing about something. One of them, Kyle, pointed at the ride and said something that made everyone crack up. Pure bull, Maya thought. They were all pretending to be too cool for it.

Suddenly, the DJ announced a prize for anyone who could stay on the bull for thirty seconds. Free pizza for a month.

Maya's hand shot up before her brain could stop it. The room went silent.

She climbed onto the mechanical bull, her heart pounding, and held on as it started moving. Somewhere between the first jerk and nearly flying off, she stopped caring about her hair or who was watching. She was just holding on and laughing, actually laughing, as the machine tried to buck her off and she refused to let it win.

She made it to twenty-seven seconds before sliding off, landing in a heap but still grinning. The whole room erupted.

Tyler appeared above her, offering a hand. "That was pretty badass."

Maya took it, hair wild, knees scraped, feeling absolutely alive. "Yeah," she said, smiling. "It really was."

Outside, Jacey handed her another star gummy. "Told you those vitamins work." Maya laughed and popped it in her mouth. Some bull was worth believing in.