Green in the Teeth

Maya's third attempt at a viral TikTok ended with her phone face-down on the cafeteria floor. She'd been trying to record a "day in my life" but kept getting distracted by HIM—Lucas, who sat two tables away with his lacrosse bros, laughing at something that definitely wasn't funny.

"You're being a creep," whispered Jordan, sliding onto the bench across from her. "Again."

"I'm not being a creep. I'm gathering intel." Maya speared a piece of spinach from her salad. "It's called being observant. It's practically spy work."

Jordan rolled their eyes so hard it looked painful. "You literally follow his finsta from your burner account. That's not spy work, that's just—"

"STALKER behavior?" Maya finished, then immediately regretted it. Because now she was saying it out loud. Making it real.

Her iPhone buzzed. Heart, stomach, throat—all dropped simultaneously. A notification from Lucas's PRIVATE account. The one with 47 followers. The one she'd accidentally discovered through a glitch in Instagram's suggested friends last week and had been silently obsessing over ever since.

"No way," Jordan breathed, reading over her shoulder. "He noticed you?"

Maya's hands shook as she opened the message. It was a photo. Of her. From yesterday, sitting alone at this exact table, looking miserable.

The caption: "You've had spinach in your teeth for 20 minutes and I didn't know how to tell you without being weird 😅"

Maya's face burned. She'd spent FOUR DAYS crafting an elaborate personality online. She'd researched his interests. She'd liked his posts from 2019. She'd built up this entire narrative where they were soulmates who hadn't met yet, and meanwhile—

Meanwhile, he was just a guy who noticed when people had food in their teeth.

"He's been watching you too," Jordan said softly.

"He thinks I'm a sad spinach-face," Maya groaned, burying her head in her hands.

"He thinks you're someone worth messaging privately." Jordan pointed at the screen. "Reply. Before he thinks you're ignoring him."

Maya typed and deleted seven responses before settling on: "thanks for saving me from eternal embarrassment lol"

His reply came instantly: "anytime. also your tiktoks are actually funny. your timing is impeccable."

Jordan whooped loud enough that the lacrosse table glanced over. Maya didn't care. She was too busy grinning at her phone like an idiot, spinach temporarily forgotten, feeling seen for the first time in forever.