Green Teeth and Golden Eyes

Maya's palms were sweating so bad she could practically fill a water bottle. Which would've been useful, considering her throat felt like the Sahara. Tonight was homecoming, and she was actually going with Ty—the cute junior who'd somehow noticed her existence despite her being basically invisible in the halls.

"You've got this," her bestie Kai said, adjusting Maya's hair in the mirror. "Unless you don't, in which case I'm Netflix and crying all weekend."

"Thanks for the confidence boost," Maya deadpanned, smoothing her dress. Her mom had made her promise to eat something before leaving, so she'd grabbed a smoothie. Spinach. Because apparently tonight wasn't stressful enough without adding food poisoning to the mix.

The gym was transformed: fairy lights, streamers, and a DJ who thought playing "Cupid Shuffle" constituted fresh content. Maya spotted Ty by the punch bowl, looking unfairly good in a button-down that actually fit.

"Hey!" he said, grinning. "You look—wow."

"Thanks!" she said back, maybe too loudly. "You too! Good! I mean, you look good!"

Kai was somewhere behind her, she just knew it, probably dying of secondhand embarrassment.

They danced. They awkwardly swayed. Maya was actually having fun until Ty whispered, "So I've been wanting to ask you something all week..."

Her heart did something between a flutter and a seizure. This was it. The moment.

"You're really smart, right?" Ty continued. "Like, you'd be good at riddles?"

Maya blinked. "I guess?"

"Perfect. There's this bonus question on the mythology test about the sphinx and its riddle. Everyone's stuck on it. Could you help me figure it out?"

Her face fell. So hard. Of course. The cute guy only talked to her for homework help. Classic. She was about to make some excuse and bail when she spotted her reflection in the darkened gym windows.

Every inch of her front teeth was coated in bright green spinach.

She'd been smiling at Ty with a salad garden in her smile for THIRTY MINUTES.

"You know what?" Maya said, suddenly furious. "The sphinx asked: 'What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?' The answer is humans—we crawl as babies, walk as adults, and use canes when we're old. And you could've Googled that in ten seconds instead of pretending to be interested in me."

Ty blinked, finally noticing her teeth. "Oh, um, you have—"

"I know what I have," she snapped. "I have dignity, which is more than I can say for whatever you call that."

She stalked off to find Kai, who was doubled over laughing. "You're like a fox," Kai wheezed. "All that teeth, still ferocious."

Maya wiped her teeth, checked her reflection, and realized she didn't care that the night was a disaster. She'd spoken her truth. She'd survived.

"Whatever," she said, grinning. "Homecoming can wait. Let's get tacos."