Operation Vitamin

My beanie was pulled down so low I could barely see the cafeteria table, but that was the point. I was on a mission — or at least, that's what I told myself while stealing glances at Liam from across the room.

"You're not being a spy," Maya whispered, sliding into the seat opposite me. "You're being a creeper with a weird hat obsession."

I ignored her, adjusting my brim for maximum coverage. The hat was my security blanket, my social camouflage. Without it, I felt exposed — like everyone could see the anxiety buzzing beneath my skin.

Maya sighed, pushing a small orange bottle across the table. "Your mom said you forgot these again."

Vitamin D gummies. The bane of my existence. At sixteen, I was too old for gummy anything, but too awkward to confront my mom about babying me in front of her friends. I shoved the bottle into my backpack, checking if Liam had noticed. He hadn't. He was laughing at something Jenna said, his head thrown back, totally unselfconscious in a way I'd never been.

"Operation Vitamin is a go," I muttered, mostly to convince myself.

"What?"

"My codename. Because I'm deficient in social skills." I grimaced at my own joke.

Maya snorted. "You're not deficient. You're just..."

"Awkward? Inexperienced? A human disaster?"

"Waiting for the right moment." She nodded toward Liam. "Like, maybe the moment where you stop spying and actually say hi?"

Before I could panic my way out of it, Jenna caught my eye. She waved.

My hat slid up as I lifted my head, exposing my flushed face. I froze. The moment stretched, suspended in cafeteria noise and the smell of pizza and possibilities.

Then Liam turned. He saw me. He smiled.

"Hey," he called out. "Cool hat."

I pulled it off, running a hand through my flattened hair. For once, the vitamin-deficient, socially awkward spy inside me went quiet.

"Thanks," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "Want to sit with us?"

Maya's smirk said it all: Operation complete.