Vitamin C and Social Suicide

Maya's hands shook as she clicked the cap off her vitamin C supplement. The bright orange gummy stared back at her like it knew exactly what she was about to do.

"You're seriously gonna do it?" Jordan asked from across the cafeteria table, eyes wide. "That's literal social suicide, bro."

The incident had started at 8:14 AM when Maya—the girl who'd once accidentally worn two different shoes to homecoming—knocked over a cafeteria tray bearing the school's newly-adopted mascot costume: a bear suit someone had ordered three sizes too big.

The thing had tumbled onto her brand new white sneakers. Orange juice. EVERYWHERE.

Now the entire sophomore class was calling her Orange Bear Girl.

"It's not THAT bad," she'd told herself earlier in the bathroom mirror, while trying to scrub her shoes with paper towels. But it was. It SO was.

She overheard someone in the hallway: "Did you see her? She literally wore the bear's orange juice like perfume."

The vitamin C gummy sat in her palm like a tiny, orange decision. Her phone buzzed—her group chat, blowing up with memes.

The joke was: Orange Bear Girl

The plan was: Fake it till you make it

The reality was: She'd never felt more exposed

Then someone slid onto the bench beside her.

"Hey."

It was Riley—the girl who'd somehow managed to be effortlessly cool while simultaneously being completely weird. Riley wore mismatched socks on purpose. Riley had once given a presentation about haunted dolls.

"So," Riley said, popping a vitamin into her own mouth like it was completely normal. "I heard you had a run-in with our mascot."

Maya wanted to dissolve.

"Actually," Riley continued, "I've been trying to find an excuse to talk to you since you wore those skeleton earrings to the winter formal. Those were sick."

Maya blinked. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Also, orange is literally your color. Not even being sarcastic." Riley grinned. "Wanna sit with me and my weird friends tomorrow? We promise not to throw juice on you."

Maya looked at the orange gummy in her hand. Then at Jordan, who was finally laughing.

Maybe being Orange Bear Girl wasn't the worst thing that could happen.

Maybe it was exactly what she needed.