Green in the Teeth

Maya's summer had been one long spiral of awkward until she stepped onto the padel court. The camp counselor, Jake with the crooked grin and arms that actually existed, had been watching her all week. And now here she was, gripping a racquet like her life depended on it.

"You've got this, Maya," Jake called from the sidelines. "Just relax your shoulders."

Easy for him to say. He wasn't the one whose heart was doing jumping jacks in her throat. Her opponent, Brianna—the girl who'd ruled their school's social hierarchy since sixth grade—smirked across the net.

"First time?" Brianna asked, spinning her racquet.

Maya nodded, trying to look casual. "Yeah. But I played tennis for like, six years."

Lie. She'd YouTube-d tutorials for three nights straight.

The game started. Maya actually wasn't terrible—her hand-eye coordination was on point from years of video games. But Brianna played like she'd been born with a racquet in hand. Every time Maya thought she had an opening, Brianna's return would skim the net, drop just over her side.

"Nice shot!" Jake cheered.

Maya's face burned. Could the ground just open up and swallow her already?

Then came the snack break. The camp had set out a"healthy options" table, which basically meant stuff no teenager would voluntarily choose. Maya grabbed a spinach wrap because it looked like the least offensive option and she was starving.

She took a massive bite. And that's when Jake walked over.

"Hey, great first game," he said, smiling. "You're actually really good—"

He froze.

"What?" Maya asked through a mouthful of spinach.

Jake's eyes darted to her teeth. Then away. Then back.

"You've got a little..." He gestured vaguely at his own mouth.

Maya's stomach dropped. SPINACH. IN HER TEETH. In front of Jake. In front of Brianna, who was now openly laughing with her friends.

She spat the bite into her napkin, face flaming. This was it. This was how she died. Social death, immediate and irreversible.

"I'll be right back," she mumbled, speed-walking toward the bathrooms.

She washed her mouth out, stared at herself in the mirror. Why was she like this? Why did everything have to be so—

"Hey."

Maya jumped. Jake was standing in the doorway.

"I am SO sorry," she said. "That was humiliating."

"Nah." He leaned against the doorframe, casual as anything. "One time, last summer, I had a piece of spinach stuck in my teeth for like, four hours. Went through half the day before anyone told me. At least you only had an audience of, what? Twenty people?"

Maya groaned. "Great. So now I'm the spinach girl."

"You're the girl who's actually really good at padel," Jake said. "And who's brave enough to try something new in front of everyone." He paused. "Wanna finish the game?"

Maya looked at him—really looked at him. The crooked grin was still there, but now it seemed... kind. Genuine.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I do."

They walked back to the court together. Brianna was still watching, but Maya didn't care. Let her watch. Maya stepped up to the service line, racquet ready.

Later that night, back in the cabin, her roommate Chloe flopped onto her bed. "So I heard you became the camp legend today."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"No, seriously!" Chloe sat up. "Everyone's talking about how you didn't even care that you had spinach in your teeth. Just kept playing like a boss. That's confidence, Maya. That's what they call 'bearing it' like a champion."

Maya blinked. "They think I did it on purpose?"

"They think you're unshakeable." Chloe grinned. "And Jake thinks you're cute. Just so you know."

Maya's heart did that thing again. But this time, she didn't mind.

"Whatever," she said, grabbing her phone. "I'm just here for the padel."

"Sure you are." Chloe's voice was teasing. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Spinach Girl."

Maya laughed, rolling onto her back. Maybe this summer wouldn't be so bad after all.