Green Between My Teeth

Maya froze. Literally froze. She was mid-laugh at something Tyrell said when she caught her reflection in the cafeteria window — a giant, ugly chunk of **spinach** wedged between her front teeth like some kind of vibrant green disaster.

"Oh my god," she whispered, her hand flying to her mouth. "How long has that been there?"

Tyrell didn't notice. He was still talking about his weekend basketball tournament, animated and cute in that way that made Maya's stomach do weird little flips. She'd been crushing on him since September, and they'd finally been having a real conversation, and now this. Now she looked like she'd been grazing in a salad bar.

The worst part? Jordan had definitely seen it. Jordan, who lived to make Maya's life miserable. Jordan was sitting two tables away with her squad, and their eyes met across the crowded cafeteria. Jordan's smirk was pure evil energy.

"Nice lunch, Maya," Jordan called out, just loud enough for half the room to hear. "Really bringing some **bull** energy to the table today."

Her friends laughed. Maya felt her face burning like it might actually catch fire. She grabbed her tray and stood up way too fast, knocking her water bottle over. It rolled across the floor, drawing even more attention.

"Whatever," Maya mumbled, and basically sprinted out of the cafeteria.

She ended up in the library, her usual escape route. That's where she found it — the ancient Egypt display she'd been ignoring for weeks. There was a reproduction of the Great **Sphinx** staring at her with that mysterious, inscrutable expression.

Maya slumped down on the floor beside it. "At least you didn't have high school," she said to the stone lion-human thing.

"Hey."

Maya jumped. It was Tyrell. He'd followed her.

"You okay?" He slid down beside her, close enough that their shoulders almost touched. "Jordan's being extra today, huh?"

"Yeah." Maya couldn't look at him. "I'm just — this is so embarrassing."

"The spinach thing?" Tyrell said it so casually, like it was nothing. "I was gonna tell you, but I didn't want to make it weird."

Maya finally looked at him. He was smiling, but not in a mean way. "You knew?"

"The whole time." He shrugged. "But honestly? It was kind of endearing. Like, you're just out here living your life, not trying to be all fake and perfect like everyone else." He paused. "I like that about you."

Maya's stomach did that flip thing again, but this time it felt different. Better. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a mint. "For the record, you got it all. You're good."

Maya took the mint, their fingers brushing for just a second. "Thanks."

"Want to skip next period and hang out here?" Tyrell asked. "I've been wanting to ask you about that Egypt project anyway."

Maya looked at the Sphinx, then back at Tyrell. For the first time all day, she actually smiled — for real. "Absolutely."