Green Smoothie Disaster

Maya stared into the bathroom mirror, her curly hair frizzing in every possible direction despite the expensive anti-frizz serum she'd wasted half her allowance on. The Welcome Back BBQ was in two hours, and she looked like she'd stuck her finger in an electrical socket.

"Maya! Your smoothie!" her mom called from the kitchen.

She groaned. The spinach concoction her mom had decided was essential for her "growing teenage body." Maya downed the green sludge in one gulp, wiping her mouth and checking her reflection. Her hair was still a disaster, but her skin looked decent enough.

At the party, she spotted Tyler by the pool, laughing with his friends. This was it—her chance to finally talk to him after two years of awkward hallway encounters. Maya took a deep breath, smoothed her dress, and headed over.

"Hey Maya!" Tyler grinned. "Glad you made it."

She smiled back, feeling confident. "Me too!"

"You've got a little..." Tyler gestured to his teeth.

Maya's stomach dropped. She rushed to the bathroom, her face burning. A massive chunk of spinach was wedged between her front teeth, bright green and impossible to miss. How long had it been there? The entire conversation? Had other people seen it and not said anything?

She splashed cold water on her face, fighting back tears of humiliation. This was it. Her social life was over. She'd be "Spinach Girl" forever.

But then she caught her reflection in the mirror—the spinach was gone, her hair was actually kind of cute in its messy state, and her skin was glowing from all those vitamins. Maybe her mom was right about the growing body thing.

Maya walked back outside, head high. Tyler was still by the pool.

"Nice save," he said. "Happened to me last year with a basil leaf. I looked like a plant for three hours."

She laughed, genuinely. "Did everyone notice?"

"Only the people who actually matter." He smiled. "Want to get some water? I heard there's sparkling."

"Sure," Maya said, her hair frizzing around her face, confident that whatever happened next, she could handle it.