Operation Invisible

Maya pulled her beanie **hat** lower over her forehead, effectively disappearing into the sea of students flooding the hallway. First day at Northwood High, and she'd already mastered the art of being a ghost. That was the plan, anyway.

Then she saw him.

Lucas Chen was leaning against his locker like he owned the hallway, effortlessly cool in his flannel and ridiculously perfect hair. They'd been neighbors since kindergarten, back when Maya was the loud, confident girl who climbed trees and picked fights with imaginary dragons. Now? She was the new girl who could barely make eye contact.

She tried to speed-walk past him, but his voice cut through the noise. "Maya? Is that you?"

She stopped. Forced herself to turn around. "Hey, Lucas. Long time."

He pushed off from his locker, grinning. "Three years! Your family moved when we were, what, twelve? You look—"

Maya's brain short-circuited. This was it. He was about to say something. She felt like she was undercover, some kind of social **spy** gathering intel on how to be a normal human being. But her cover was blown.

"You look great," he finished.

Her face burned. "You too. I mean, not that I was looking, but—"

Why was she like this?

He laughed, but it wasn't mean. "Smooth. So, lunch? You should sit with us. Me and the crew."

The offer hung in the air like a challenge. She'd intended to eat in the library, but Maya found herself nodding anyway.

The cafeteria was a battlefield of social hierarchies. Lucas led her to a table with three other people, introducing her like she wasn't completely terrified. Maya picked at her tray, hyper-aware of every movement.

That's when the girl next to her—Zara, with cascading braids and an **orange** backpack—asked, "So what's your deal, new girl? You a band kid? Theater?"

Maya's mind went blank. She'd been **running** from her old self for years, ever since the panic attacks started in middle school, ever since she became the girl who couldn't breathe during presentations and hid in bathrooms during lunch.

"I... I don't know," Maya said honestly.

"Well," Zara said, "you've got something green in your teeth. Probably from the salad."

Maya froze. **Spinach**. Of course. Her first conversation with potential friends, and she'd been walking around with salad in her teeth.

She excused herself to the bathroom, planning to escape through the window if necessary.

But when she returned, cleaned up and ready to bolt, Zara slid over and patted the seat beside her. "We all have spinach moments," she said. "Last week, Lucas walked around with his fly down for three periods."

"Hey!" Lucas protested, but he was grinning.

Maya sat back down. Maybe invisibility was overrated. Maybe she could be seen—and still survive.