The Vitamin Gummy Conspiracy

Maya's mom swore those orange gummies would change her life. "They're vitamin D, Maya. You never go outside. Your brain needs sunshine." But Maya preferred the sunshine of her phone screen, safely tucked in her room where social interactions couldn't go sideways.

The backwards baseball hat was her armor. She'd bought it at the thrift store - a faded Chicago Cubs cap that smelled like someone else's memories. Worn low over her eyes, it was a do-not-disturb sign for the world. When the hat was on, Maya was mysterious, cool, untouchable. When it was off, she was just a girl who stuttered when cute boys talked to her.

Then came the beach bonfire that everyone was posting about on Instagram. Jordan, the skateboarder with the impossible smile, was going. Maya wanted to stay home. Her best friend Priya threatened to drag her there by her hair.

"You're going," Priya said, confiscating her phone. "And you're wearing that cute sundress, not your hoodie armor."

The fire pit crackled. Someone brought a speaker. Maya stood near the snacks table, clutching a bottle of water like it was a lifeline. Then Jordan appeared, holding out his hand.

"You're Maya, right?"

Her palm was sweating. She wiped it on her dress before shaking his hand. He noticed. Of course he noticed.

"Nervous?" he asked, not mocking her, just... curious.

"Always," she admitted, surprising herself.

He pulled a box from his pocket. "My mom makes me take these too. Vitamin gummies. Says I'm pale as a ghost."

They bonded over shared parental concern for their vitamin deficiencies. They talked about music, about how Jordan actually hated skating but did it because his friends expected it to be his whole personality. About how Maya wanted to start a zine but was scared nobody would read it.

"Show me your palm," Jordan said suddenly.

"What?"

"Palm reading. I learned from YouTube. It's probably fake but it's fun."

She held out her hand. He traced the lines, pretending to know what they meant. But really he was just holding her hand, and she was letting him, and for the first time in forever, Maya wasn't thinking about running away.

"Your lifeline says you're about to do something brave," he said.

Maya reached up and took off her hat. Her hair tumbled free, and she didn't even care that it was probably a mess.

"Like that?"

Jordan grinned. "Exactly like that."

Later, she'd text Priya: the vitamin gummies didn't change her life. Taking off the hat did.