Behind the Screen

Maya's mom was definitely weird about vegetables, but the spinach incident was next level. It started when her phone buzzed during dinner—her iPhone lighting up like a signal flare across the table.

"Who's that?" Maya asked, trying to sound casual while her heart did that stupid fluttery thing.

"No one," her mom said, way too quickly, shoving a massive forkful of spinach into her mouth like she was trying to hide something.

But Maya had already seen. The notification. The name. *Rick.*

Okay, so maybe Maya had developed a slight spy habit since the divorce. It wasn't her fault her parents were acting suspicious as hell. Her dad had been "working late" a lot lately, and now her mom was getting secret texts during dinner? The math wasn't mathing.

The next morning, Maya positioned herself strategically in the kitchen doorway, iPhone in hand like she was just casually scrolling TikTok while actually waiting for her mom to leave for work. The second the front door clicked shut, Maya made her move.

Her mom's phone sat on the counter. Maya knew she shouldn't. But also, she *really* should.

*One look.* That's it. Just to confirm her suspicions about Rick and whatever midlife crisis situation was unfolding.

But when she finally got the phone unlocked (thank you, little sister's birthday for the password), there were no secret texts from Rick. No sketchy DMs. Nothing but a bunch of notifications from—

*A spin class app?*

"Rick's Spin Revolution," the logo read, with a ridiculously buff cartoon spinach lifting weights.

Maya stared at the screen. Her mom wasn't having an affair. She was just secretly taking spin classes to get in shape, probably embarrassed that she'd quit after two classes last time.

The guilt hit Maya like a freight train. Her mom wasn't hiding anything bad—she was just trying, in her awkward mom way, to be healthier. And here was Maya, treating her mom's life like it was some drama she needed to investigate.

That night, Maya helped herself to a massive serving of spinach at dinner.

"What's gotten into you?" her mom asked, eyes wide.

"Just trying to be healthy," Maya said, forcing a smile. "Maybe we could try that spin class together sometime?"

Her mom's face lit up in that way that made Maya's chest feel weirdly tight. "I'd love that, sweetie."

And yeah, maybe Maya was still lowkey suspicious about her dad's "late nights," but she was learning that sometimes the stuff you think you know about people isn't even half the story.