Operation Invisible

Maya's plan was flawless in theory: become a new person sophomore year, leave the middle school disasters behind, and finally sit at the lunch table with the cool kids. The only problem? She hadn't accounted for the spinach.

The morning had started so promising. She'd spent forty-five minutes straightening her hair, stolen her sister's vintage fedora—because apparently hats were making a comeback—and practiced her casual wave in the mirror until it looked natural. But by third period lunch, everything went sideways.

The guy she'd been crushing on since August, Jason Chen, finally noticed her. Actually noticed her. He was walking toward her table, and Maya's heart was basically doing parkour in her chest. She leaned in to say something smooth and sophisticated, something that would prove she was definitely still thinking about the goldfish funeral she'd cried over in sixth grade.

"Your teeth," Jason said, then stopped. "You have—"

She ran to the bathroom mirror and there it was. A giant, obvious piece of spinach wedged between her front teeth like a green neon sign announcing her status as eternal loser.

Maya spent the rest of lunch hiding in a bathroom stall, feeling like the world's worst spy. That's when she overheard them—Jason and his friends talking about how nobody really knew each other anyway, how everyone was faking it, how even the popular kids felt like imposters most of the time.

The bell rang. Maya took off the hat, wiped her eyes, and walked out running straight into...

"Hey," said Jason. "I was trying to tell you earlier—your braces are actually kind of cool. My sister says the green bands are lucky."

Maya stared at him. Then she started laughing. She couldn't help it. "You think I chose green bands on purpose?"

"Well," Jason grinned, "they match your personality."

"Bold choice," she shot back.

"Very," he agreed. "So, same table tomorrow?"

Maya smiled, spinach-free and done with hiding. "See you there."