Green Between My Teeth

Maya stared at her reflection, wishing her naturally curly hair would just behave for once. She'd spent forty-five minutes straightening it, only for the middle school hallway's humidity to make it frizz up like she'd stuck her finger in an electrical socket.

"Your mom's here," Chloe called, barely looking up from her iPhone as Maya walked into their usual lunch spot.

Maya self-consciously ran a hand through her hair. "Do I look okay?"

"You look fine," Chloe said, already distracted by something on her screen. "OMG, did you see who's dating who now?"

Maya sat down, opening her lunchbox. That's when she noticed it — a giant piece of spinach wedged between her front teeth. From her morning smoothie. That she'd had FOUR HOURS AGO.

She'd walked around school ALL MORNING like this. Said hi to Ryan in calculus. Presented her English project. Even smiled at her crush in the hallway.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" she whispered, mortified.

"What?" Chloe finally looked up. "Oh my god, no one said anything?"

"Apparently not. I've been a walking salad bar all day."

Chloe started laughing. "That's actually kind of iconic. Remember when you felt like everyone was watching you?"

Maya groaned. "I literally felt like I was on display. Like I had a spy camera following me around documenting my most embarrassing moments."

"Okay, but hear me out," Chloe said. "Maybe that's the point. You were so worried about your hair and how you looked and what everyone was thinking... and literally no one noticed a giant piece of spinach in your teeth."

Maya paused. "That's... supposed to make me feel better?"

"No! I mean — everyone's too busy worrying about themselves to notice your stuff. You know?"

Maya pulled out her phone to check her reflection in the black screen. Sure enough, there it was. Bright green. Impossible to miss.

"You know what?" Maya said, rinsing out her mouth at the sink. "You're right. If no one noticed THIS, they definitely aren't noticing my hair frizz."

"Exactly," Chloe grinned. "Now let's never speak of this again. Also, I'm never making smoothies with you before school."

Maya laughed, and for the first time all day, she didn't check her reflection. Her hair was still frizzy. She'd survived a public spinach disaster. And somehow, she'd learned that the spotlight she'd felt under all day? It had been turned off the whole time.

Maybe high school wasn't about being perfect. It was just about being real — spinach teeth and all.