Green Smoothie Disaster

Maya's first day at country club prep school felt like walking into a ROM-com where everyone else had the script. Her iPhone buzzed in her pocket—Mom checking in, obviously—but she ignored it, too busy trying to look like she belonged.

"You're the new scholarship kid, right?" Chloe appeared beside her at the smoothie bar, all curated aesthetic and genuine warmth. "I'm your locker buddy. Wanna try padel after school? It's like tennis but cooler."

Maya almost said yes. But then she spotted Chloe's friend group near the entrance—the same kids who'd been staring at her thrifted backpack all morning.

"Maybe," Maya lied.

Her phone buzzed again. This time it was the group chat from her old school, filling up with memes she didn't understand anymore. The distance hit her like physical pain.

At lunch, she ended up at the table with the other scholarship kids, which felt wrong but also safe. Tyler, a sophomore with the kind of effortless confidence she'd been faking all day, slid into the seat across from her.

"First week survival tip," he said, pushing a smoothie toward her. "Don't drink anything green until you trust the person who made it."

Maya eyed the suspiciously vibrant liquid. "What's in it?"

"Kale, spinach, apple, and something called 'dragon fruit' which I'm pretty sure is just marketing."

She took a sip anyway. It tasted like grass and regret.

Tyler laughed. "I warned you. That's your bear moment, by the way. Everyone has one—the thing that makes you realize this place is actually weird. Mine was the llama polo incident."

"Llama polo exists?"

"Only during spirit week."

Her phone lit up with a notification from home: her little sister's first day at middle school. The photo showed Ellie standing outside their old middle school, looking small and brave. Maya typed out a supportive big sister response, deleted it, typed it again.

"You okay?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah. Just... realizing everyone here is pretending they know what they're doing."

"Pretty much." He finished his smoothie. "So, about padel—you any good?"

"Never played."

"Perfect. Chloe's been looking for a fourth. She's competitive but she buys post-game snacks." He stood up. "Consider it an official friend offer. No awkward initiation rituals required."

Maya looked at her phone one more time, then put it in her pocket. "I'm in."

The green smoothie still tasted terrible, but somehow, that felt like exactly the right place to start.