Green Lies and Watchful Eyes

Maya's shift at FreshMart was supposed to be chill—just restocking the **spinach** display while her phone blew up with group chat drama she was too tired to parse. But when she caught Tyler from AP Bio staring at her through the dairy case, third time this week, her stomach did that weird flip it always did around him.

She'd been crushing on Tyler since homecoming, when he'd actually danced instead of standing against the wall like every other awkward sophomore boy. But ever since she'd overheard Jessica and her squad whispering about how Tyler was totally out of her league, Maya had been spiraling.

"You're literally **spy**-ing on him now," her best friend Riley had teased at lunch. "Just slide into his DMs like a normal person."

But Maya couldn't. Not when she still hadn't figured out who she was supposed to be—art kid? band geek? future journalist? Nothing fit quite right.

Tonight, though, Tyler approached her spinach mountain like he was on a mission.

"Hey, Maya."

Her heart raced. "Hey."

"So, like, Jessica told everyone you were talking trash about my Photoshop skills," he said, so direct it knocked the wind out of her. "But that's **bull**, right?"

Maya stared at him. This was it—the moment she'd been both dreading and secretly hoping for. Tyler noticed her. Tyler was thinking about her. And somehow, it involved Jessica's toxic gossip spiral again.

"I've literally never said anything about your Photoshop skills," Maya said, voice stronger than she felt. "Your edits are actually kind of sick."

Tyler's shoulders dropped. "I knew it. Jessica's been starting drama since middle school. I don't know why I listened to her."

He reached for a bag of spinach, their fingers brushing. "You going to the football game Friday?"

"Maybe," Maya said, feeling something shift inside her—tightness loosening, confidence rising. "If someone saves me a seat."

Tyler grinned, and Maya finally understood what nobody told you about growing up: the scary moments where you had to speak up for yourself? That's where you found out who you actually were. And sometimes, the person watching you from across the room wasn't judging you at all.

They were just waiting for the right moment to say hello.