Green Between My Teeth

I was absolutely vibing until Maya's older brother pointed at my teeth.

"You got a little..." He gestured at his own perfect smile, dimples and all.

My heart dropped into my stomach like a stone. I'd been chewing nervously on the spinach wrap my mom packed for lunch—because apparently, we couldn't afford normal food like everyone else at Chloe's pool party—while simultaneously trying to look like I belonged.

I sprinted to the bathroom, locked the door, and stared into the mirror. Yep. There it was. A vibrant green disaster wedged between my front brackets, mocking my entire existence.

Three weeks into freshman year, three weeks into braces, and I was already failing at basic human functions. This was it. This was how my social life ended before it even started.

My phone buzzed. Group chat: Sam, Kai, and Leo. They'd finally invited me somewhere. The arcade. Tonight. I'd been waiting for this moment since August.

I texted back: bet.

Then I stared at the pool through the bathroom window. Everyone looked so effortless, so unbothered, while I was in here hyperventilating over a vegetable.

Maya knocked. "You good in there?"

"Yeah," I called back, my voice cracking spectacularly. "Just fixing my... everything."

Later that night, I showed up to the arcade like ten minutes early because I refuse to be that person. Sam was already there, hoodie tied around his waist, hair wet.

"Just got out of swimming practice," he said, wiping water from his forehead. "You smell like... is that chlorine?"

"No, that's my natural musk," I deadpanned, and he actually laughed.

Kai showed up with those vitamin water things that cost eight dollars because his parents were rich and apparently believed in hydration over anything else.

"Your braces look sick though," Kai said, pointing at my mouth with his bottle. "My cousin has those. She said the first month is literal hell but you get used to it."

"Tell that to the spinach that lived between my teeth for three hours today," I said before I could stop myself.

They both cracked up, and I felt something shift. Like maybe I didn't have to be perfect all the time. Maybe the embarrassing stuff was just... part of it.

"Wait," Sam said, still laughing. "Is that why you disappeared at Chloe's?"

"I was performing emergency surgery," I said. "With my tongue and a lot of panic."

And just like that, I wasn't the new kid anymore. I was the one who told the embarrassing story first, before anyone else could use it against me. I was swimming.