The Summer I Stopped Trying

My hair was supposed to be my glow-up catalyst. Instead, it looked like I'd stuck my finger in an electrical socket.

"You look... different," Liam said, which was definitely not a compliment.

"Different good or different 'oh no, what happened'?" I asked, leaning against my locker like I wasn't freaking out.

He laughed, but it was nice laugh. The kind that made his nose crinkle. "Different like you're not afraid to try new things."

I'd spent all summer taking those hair vitamins Chloe swore would make my hair "mermaid wave perfect." Spoiler: it did not. It made my hair fluffy in a way that said I'd personally offended gravity. Meanwhile, my cat Sphinx—who I'd named after the mythological creature because she was mysterious and judgmental—spent every morning sitting on my bathroom counter watching me struggle with my straightener like she was paid to critique me.

That night, lightning crackled across the sky while I sat at my bedroom window, overthinking everything. Sophomore year in two days. New hair (disaster). New chances (possibly also disaster). Liam had actually noticed me, but was it because I looked ridiculous?

My phone buzzed. Liam: "Storm's crazy. Want to watch movies tomorrow?"

I stared at the screen. My heart did that embarrassing fluttery thing.

But then I thought about it—really thought about it. I'd spent months trying to be someone else, taking vitamins and straightening my hair and practicing being cool in front of my mirror. And the one time I actually stepped out of my comfort zone and let myself look messy and real, Liam wanted to hang out.

Maybe the point wasn't to perfect everything. Maybe the point was to stop trying so hard.

Sphinx jumped onto my lap and purred like she approved of this character development.

"Yeah," I typed back. "That sounds perfect."

Outside, another flash of lightning illuminated my room. And for the first time in forever, I didn't check my reflection in the window glass. I just watched the storm and smiled.