Vitamin Water Bear

The moment Maya stepped into Kylie's basement, she knew she'd made a mistake.

Everyone was already there — the popular crew, leaning against the basement walls like they owned the place. Maya tugged at her bright orange hoodie, suddenly hyper-aware that she looked like a traffic cone next to everyone's perfectly curated outfits.

"Hey! You made it!" Kylie called from the couch, way too enthusiastic. "Grab something to drink!"

Maya's palms started sweating. This was it — her first real party, and she was already freaking out. Her older sister had given her a pre-party pep talk: "Just bring your own vibe. Maybe take one of those B vitamins first, you know, for energy."

The vitamin was supposed to help. Instead, Maya felt like her heart was doing jumping jacks.

"I'm good," she squeaked, clutching her water bottle like a lifeline. Because of course she'd brought her own water to a party. Who even WAS she?

Then she saw it.

In the corner of the basement, someone had set up what appeared to be a literal shrine to Jason Rivera — a framed photo, some candles, and a three-foot-tall teddy bear wearing a tiny basketball jersey. Because Jason had apparently made varsity last week, and this was how his friends showed they cared?

Maya snorted before she could stop herself.

The room went quiet.

"Something funny?" Jason asked, halfway across the room. He was cute. He was popular. And he was looking right at her.

Maya's face burned hotter than her orange hoodie. "I... I was just appreciating the bear," she managed. "Very... dedicated."

Jason sauntered over. "Yeah, my friends are weird." He grinned, and something in Maya's chest did that annoying flutter thing. "I'm Jason, by the way."

"Maya."

"Cool hoodie." His eyes lingered on the orange fabric. "Bold choice."

Maya waited for the sarcasm. It didn't come.

"Thanks," she said, and actually meant it.

They talked for twenty minutes about everything and nothing — his basketball practices, her weird obsession with vintage video games, how both of them hated parties but came anyway because that's what you did in high school.

At some point, Maya realized she'd stopped clutching her water bottle. Her hands were actually kinda dry. The vitamin-induced heart palpitations had settled into something else entirely — something that felt suspiciously like excitement.

"Hey," Jason said, glancing at his phone. "I need more chips. Want to make a Target run with me? Just us?"

Maya looked at the bear in the corner. She looked at her orange hoodie. She looked at Jason, who was waiting for her answer like it actually mattered.

"Yeah," Maya said, and for the first time all night, she didn't feel like she needed any vitamin-induced confidence. "Let's go."