Greenscreen Protocol

Marcus stood in front of his bathroom mirror, applying what had to be his seventh layer of deodorant. Today was the day—the first day of sophomore year at Northwood High, and he had approximately zero interest in repeating freshman year's performance as "that quiet kid who sat alone at lunch."

"You good in there, bro?" His younger sister Maya yelled through the door. "Mom said breakfast is ready. She made those smoothie things with the spinach again."

"Be there in a sec," Marcus called back, grimacing. The spinach situation was real. His mom had gone full wellness warrior over the summer, which meant everything in their house now tasted like a garden that had given up on life.

He grabbed his backpack and headed to the kitchen, where their cat, Pickles, was aggressively judging him from atop the refrigerator.

"Eat your greens, honey," his mom said, sliding a glass toward him. "It's packed with vitamin everything. You're growing, you need fuel."

Marcus chugged the smoothie in one go, trying not to taste it. "Thanks, Mom. Gotta run."

The bus ride was its usual nightmare—too loud, too crowded, everyone pretending not to notice everyone else. Marcus found an empty seat and pulled out his phone, restarting the same TikTok for the third time. His data plan was basically nonexistent, so he was stuck relying on whatever sketchy public WiFi he could find.

At school, the hallways were already buzzing. That familiar mix of perfume, anxiety, and someone's vanilla body spray. Marcus spotted his crush, Jenna, by her locker. She was laughing with her friends, hair perfect, outfit effortlessly coordinated. Meanwhile, Marcus was currently rocking a slightly too-big hoodie and jeans he'd washed inside out by accident.

"Yo, Marcus!" His friend Jake appeared, slapping him on the back. "You see Mr. Henderson's hair today? It's reaching new heights."

Marcus laughed despite himself. "Leave him alone, man."

The day passed in a blur—boring classes, awkward hallway encounters, and lunch, where Marcus actually managed to sit with people instead of alone. Progress.

By the time he got home, his brain was fried. He flopped onto the couch, grabbing the remote, only to remember his parents had cancelled their cable subscription to save money. Another L.

"Hey, sport," his dad called from the other room. "We're thinking about getting a dog. What do you think?"

"Seriously?" Marcus perked up. "That would be sick."

"Great!" His mom appeared, holding yet another green smoothie. "But you're walking it. Every morning. Before school."

Marcus took the smoothie, staring at its suspicious green color. Spinach. Again. But honestly? He'd drink a gallon of spinach sludge if it meant having a wingman for morning walks. Maybe sophomore year wouldn't be so bad after all.

Pickles meowed from the fridge, clearly unimpressed.

"Yeah, yeah," Marcus told the cat. "Your reign of terror is ending."

Maybe change was scary. Maybe he'd still say awkward things sometimes and wear hoodies that didn't fit right. But at least he was trying. At least he wasn't the same person who'd started freshman year afraid to make eye contact.

Progress wasn't a straight line. Sometimes it was just a spinach smoothie and a really annoying cat. But that was okay.