Green in the Teeth, Gold in the Heart

Maya's palms were sweating so much she was practically leaving puddles on her thighs. First period AP Bio, and somehow she'd landed in the seat directly behind Jordan—that Jordan, the one whose laugh sounded like sunlight and who somehow made genetics Punnett squares look like art.

Yesterday at lunch, CJ had pointed at her tray with that manic grin. "You got spinach, dude. Like, actual cartoon-level spinach between your front teeth." Maya had practically sprinted to the bathroom, mortified that Jordan might have seen it during their brief moment of eye contact across the cafeteria.

Now Jordan turned around, those hazel eyes locking onto hers. "Hey, you got a—" They gestured at their own teeth.

Maya's heart flatlined. She'd checked three times this morning. She'd flossed until her gums protested. But somehow, in this cosmic joke of a universe, there it was again. Green, leafy, social suicide.

But then Jordan's expression shifted into something softer. "Actually, never mind. It's kinda cute. Not many people can pull off the whole 'I'm so confident I don't care' vibe."

Maya blinked. Cute? The thing that had haunted her dreams in nightmares was... cute?

"Anyway," Jordan continued, "I was gonna ask if you're coming to the game Friday? I'm trying to convince people to wear those ridiculous foam hats for the student section." They pulled a crumpled green-and-gold foam hat from their backpack, shaped like a oversized football helmet. "Thought you might appreciate the aesthetic."

The hat was ridiculous. The kind of thing only someone genuinely confident—or blessedly unaware—would wear voluntarily.

Maya's palms were still sweating. But for the first time, she didn't wipe them on her jeans. She grinned, feeling something shift in her chest, warm and unfamiliar.

"I'm there," she said. "But only if I can rock that hat with the spinach still in my teeth. Gotta commit to the brand, right?"

Jordan laughed—that sound like sunlight—and Maya realized sometimes the most embarrassing moments were just the universe's way of saying hello.