The Orange Sunset Mix-Up

Maya's palms were sweating as she stood outside Jake's house, the bass from inside muffled but steady. This was it — her first high school party. She'd spent two hours on her makeup, trying to look effortless but actually trying way too hard. The crop top situation was a crisis, honestly.

Inside, the air smelled like cheap body spray and something tropical. Someone had put out fruit arrangements that were definitely not Pinterest-worthy. A wedge of papaya sat precariously on a paper plate, looking as out of place as Maya felt.

"Yo, you gonna stand there all night or what?" A guy with orange Converse and zero personal space appeared beside her. "I'm Tyler. You're Maya from AP Bio, right?"

She nodded, suddenly hyper-aware of everything. Tyler's dog, some scruffy terrier mix, had escaped the backyard and was currently living its best life knocking over solo cups. The party-goers were either laughing or pretending not to notice, because that's how high school worked.

Then she saw HIM. Jake, the host, who'd sat behind her in English since September. He was wearing this bears hoodie — like actual grizzly bears, not sports team bears — and somehow made it work. Jake caught her eye and smiled. Maya's stomach did something illegal.

"You good?" he asked, suddenly beside her. "You look like you're about to math-quiz panic."

"I'm chill," she said, despite definitely not being chill. "Just taking it all in."

"Wise." He gestured toward the混乱. "My sister's friends are relentless. They're doing karaoke later. You should join."

Before Maya could answer, his sister fox'd her way over — seriously, how did girls move like that? — with phone lights illuminating her perfectly-contoured face. "JAKE! The papaya is everywhere, CLEAN IT UP!"

The dog barked. Someone's playlist switched from emo rap to something upbeat. Maya realized her phone had blown up: five texts from her best friend asking if she'd talked to Jake yet, plus one from her mom that said 'don't do anything I wouldn't do' which was honestly ridiculous.

Jake grabbed a handful of napkins and looked at Maya. "Help me with this? And then we can bail on the karaoke and get actual food?"

Maya grinned. The bear hoodie situation was still ridiculous, but she was into it. "Deal. But I'm not touching that papaya."