Green Smoothie Disaster

Maya's mouth still tasted like that disgusting green smoothie. Spinach. Kale. Something called 'spirulina' that her health-obsessed mom swore would 'clear her skin.' Yeah right. Now she just had green teeth and zero chance of talking to Jason at lunch.

Her golden retriever, Buster, nudged her leg with his wet nose, sensing her misery. 'You're the only one who gets me, Buster,' she sighed, scratching behind his ears. Buster would never judge her for having algae stuck in her braces.

Ding. Her iPhone lit up with a notification from the group chat. 'Jason's looking at u!!!'

Maya's heart did that thing where it forgot how to beat properly. She checked her reflection in the hallway mirror. Okay, the green stuff was mostly gone, but her hair was doing something weird and she definitely wasn't giving 'effortless cool girl' vibes. More like 'just chugged pond water' vibes.

'Whatever,' she muttered. 'I'm gonna own this.'

She smoothed her vintage band tee and headed toward the cafeteria. Running on three hours of sleep and pure anxiety, Maya spotted Jason at his usual table. He was laughing at something, his hair falling across his forehead in that way that made her stomach feel like it was doing gymnastics.

Buster, sensing adventure, had followed her to the back door. The little traitor. Maya's brother had left the gate unlatched again.

'No, Buster, NO!' she hissed, but it was too late.

Her very large, very enthusiastic dog burst into the cafeteria like he owned the place. Students screamed. Lunch trays flew. And Buster? Buster made a beeline straight for Jason, who — Maya's eighteen-year-old self wanted to die right there — was holding a meatball sub.

The room went silent as Buster gently accepted the meatball from Jason's stunned hand. Jason started laughing. Actually laughing. Not the mean kind, but the real kind, where his nose crinkled.

'Your dog has excellent taste,' Jason called out, winking at her.

Maya's face burned. She wanted to disappear. But then she saw it — Jason was still looking at her. And he was smiling.

'Sorry,' she managed, walking over to retrieve her dog. 'He's... he's usually not this dramatic.' What she meant was: usually I'm not this humiliating.

'No worries,' Jason said, and Maya noticed the way he looked at her, really looked at her, green teeth and all. 'Hey, aren't you in my English class? The one who wrote that poem about social media destroying souls?'

Maya nodded, stunned. 'You read it?'

'Yeah,' Jason said, scratching Buster's ears. 'It was fire, honestly.' He paused. 'Want to sit with me? Unless your dog needs more meatballs.'

As Maya sat down, her phone buzzed again. 'OMG WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!'

She smiled, ignoring it. Some moments were better than any Instagram story.