Green Smoothie Disaster

Maya's phone buzzed again. Third time in five minutes.

"You ready for Cameron's party?" Trin texted.

Maya stared at her cracked iPhone screen, hesitating. Parties weren't really her thing. She was more library-corner-and-vintage-novels than basements-and-red-cups. But Trin had insisted. "You've been ghosting everyone since your parents split. Live a little."

She sighed and pushed herself off her bed. Her cat, Mochi, let out a dramatic meow from the windowsill, like he knew exactly what she was feeling. Drama king.

"Shut up, Mochi," she muttered, scratching behind his ears.

Her phone was at 12%. Perfect. She grabbed her charging cable from where it was tangled in a knot that defied physics. How did it always do that? She'd literally just straightened it yesterday.

"Maya! Come eat before work!" her mom called from the kitchen.

Maya padded downstairs in fuzzy socks. The kitchen smelled... interesting. Like something trying too hard to be healthy.

"Spinach smoothie!" Her mom pushed a glass across the counter. The color was alarmingly green. "Your body's growing, you need nutrients."

"Mom, I'm sixteen, not six."

"Drink it. I made enough for both of us."

Maya's little brother Marcus sauntered in, took one look at the smoothie, and grabbed a Pop-Tart instead. Their mom didn't even bother arguing anymore. He was fifteen and immune to her health kicks.

Maya took a tentative sip. It tasted like lawn clippings blended with disappointment. "Can't I just eat actual vegetables like a normal person?"

"Smoothies absorb faster. Drink up, you have studying tonight."

Maya gulped it down, trying not to taste it. Her phone buzzed again.

"Cameron's got that new guy Lucas there. You remember Lucas from algebra? He keeps asking about you."

Maya's stomach did a weird little flip. Lucas from algebra? The one who drew anime characters in the margins of his notebook and always smelled like cinnamon gum? The one she'd lowkey been watching all semester?

She rushed back to her room, heart pounding. What did she even wear to these things? Her style was basically "vintage librarian meets accidental hipster."

Mochi stretched and knocked her history textbook off the bed. Papers went everywhere.

"Nice, thanks."

Her phone died mid-text to Trin. The cable had worked its way loose again. She jammed it back in, watching the battery icon blink to life.

12%. Whatever. She'd figure it out. Lucas was going to be there. Lucas who she'd caught looking at her during last week's group project, Lucas who'd doodled a tiny cat in his notebook because she'd mentioned hers.

She grabbed her favorite hoodie and checked the mirror. Green teeth from the smoothie. Fantastic.

As she scrubbed her teeth for the third time, Maya realized maybe growing up wasn't about having it all together. Maybe it was about showing up anyway, even when your phone's dying, your cat's judging you, and you've got smoothie in your teeth.

Besides, Lucas liked cats. How bad could it be?