Operation Salad Bar

I never thought my freshman year would turn me into a spy. But here I was, crouching behind a fake plant in the cafeteria, watching Tyler Chen laugh with his friends like he owned the place.

"He's looking this way," Maya whispered through ourAirPod connection - okay, fine, regular earbuds, but a girl can dream. "Does he suspect anything?"

"Doubtful," I muttered back, adjusting my salad bowl. "He's too busy being at the top of the pyramid to notice us peasants."

Because that's what high school was, right? A giant pyramid with the popular kids at the peak, looking down on everyone else. And Tyler? He was basically the pharaoh.

My mission: find out what Tyler Chen liked so Maya could finally make her move. Simple. Easy. Totally not humiliating.

"He's heading to the salad bar," Maya's voice crackled in my ear. "This is it! Move!"

I scrambled toward the line, pretending to be super interested in the iceberg lettuce situation. Tyler appeared beside me, all dimples and varsity jacket vibes. My heart did that annoying fluttery thing.

"Hey," he said, and I actually looked behind me first because there was no way he meant me.

"Uh, hey?" I squeaked. Smooth. Real smooth.

He reached for the tongs, and I noticed something. Something terrible. A piece of bright green spinach stuck between his front teeth. The universal signal of social doom.

"You got..." I gestured vaguely at my own teeth, face burning.

Tyler's eyes widened. He checked his reflection in the sneeze guard. "Oh my god. Seriously?"

"Yeah, but it's not-"

"Dude, thanks! You're a lifesaver." He used his thumb to fix it, then grinned. "I'm Tyler, by the way."

"Lena."

"Cool." He paused. "Hey, my friend's having a party this weekend. You should come."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Why not? You seem cool. Plus, you just saved me from walking around with spinach in my teeth all day. That's worth at least a party invite."

I walked back to Maya's table in a daze, mission accomplished but somehow completely irrelevant.

"So?" Maya demanded. "What's he into? What did you find out?"

I thought about the pyramid, about how we'd spent weeks trying to decode Tyler Chen like he was some ancient mystery instead of just a person who ate salad and got food stuck in his teeth like everyone else.

"Turns out," I said, smiling at Tyler from across the room, "the pharaohs are just people too."