Green Between the Teeth

Maya's palms were sweating — again. She gripped the lunch tray so hard her knuckles turned white. Today was the day. Today she would finally talk to him.

Caleb sat at the center table, surrounded by his friends like some kind of social pyramid where he ruled unquestioningly at the top. Maya had spent three months admiring from the edges of the cafeteria, drafting texts she never sent, and generally being a creepy human.

She straightened her spine. She'd gotten up at 5 AM to straighten her hair. She was wearing her lucky shirt. She was ready.

"Hey, Caleb," she said, sliding into the empty seat across from him.

Every single person at the table stopped talking. Six pairs of eyes locked onto her.

"Uh, hey?" Caleb said.

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to—" She paused dramatically. "—come to my friend's party on Friday?"

The table remained silent. Then someone giggled. Then someone else.

Maya's stomach dropped. She rushed on: "It's gonna be sick. My friend's parents are out of town and there's gonna be a DJ and—"

"Maya," said Brianna, sitting two seats down, "there's something in your teeth."

Maya froze. She ran her tongue across her front teeth. Nothing. "What?"

"It's... it's a piece of spinach," Brianna said, wincing. "Pretty big. Bright green."

The table erupted. Caleb was laughing so hard he had to brace himself on the table. Maya's face burned hotter than she'd thought possible. She'd packed a spinach salad for lunch because she was trying to be "healthy" or whatever, and now she was becoming a meme.

She'd become a zombie. She was already dead; her body just hadn't gotten the memo yet.

"Wow," she said quietly. "That's... that's super embarrassing."

She stood up so fast her chair scraped loudly against the floor. The whole cafeteria went quiet.

Maya walked out. She didn't run. She walked with whatever dignity she had left, which was approximately zero.

The bathroom mirror confirmed it. A massive, bright green chunk of spinach, front and center. She stared at herself and actually laughed. She couldn't help it. This was her life now. The girl who tried to ask out the most popular guy in school with a garden in her teeth.

Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.

Hey, it's Caleb. Sorry about lunch. That was messed up. But also, I would've said yes anyway.

Maya stared at her phone, then at her reflection. Slowly, she smiled.

She could bear this. She could bear all of it. Because sometimes the most embarrassing moments become the best stories, and sometimes the guy at the top of the pyramid turns out to be decent.

She typed back: u still owe me for saving u from a boring friday btw