Operation Vitamin C

Maya's locker was two down from Jake's—prime real estate for a seventeen-year-old with a massive crush and zero game. Every morning, she'd execute her routine: grab her history textbook, lean casually against the metal door like she belonged there, and wait for him to notice her existence. Spoiler: he never did.

"You're literally a spy at this point," giggled Chloe, sliding up beside her while adjusting her scrunchie. "I saw you doing that thing where you pretend to be texting but you're totally watching his reflection in your phone screen."

Maya's face burned. "I am not! I was just... checking if my hair looked okay."

"Mhmm. Sure." Chloe raised an eyebrow. "By the way, you know he's into that wellness grind now? Someone said he carries like twelve different supplements."

That was it. The perfect in.

The next morning, Maya positioned herself at her locker with a brand new orange bottle clutched dramatically in her hand. Vitamin C—immune support, glow enhancer, conversation starter. She'd even researched which ones were trending on TikTok.

Jake walked by, and Maya, in a moment of pure panic disguised as confidence, fumbled the bottle. It hit the linoleum floor and rolled under the senior lockers.

"Smooth," a voice said.

Maya looked up. Jake was standing there, actually looking at her for the first time all semester.

"I, uh—" She gestured vaguely at the floor. "Dropped my vitamin."

"Need help?" He knelt down, reaching into the dark space beneath the lockers. His arm disappeared up to his shoulder. "This is a total bear to get to," he muttered, straining.

Maya's heart did something genuinely concerning in her chest. He was helping her. He was talking to her. He was using the word "bear" in a sentence, which objectively should not have been attractive, but here they were.

Jake's fingers closed around the bottle. He pulled it out, dusting it off on his jeans. "There you go. Vitamin C, huh? My mom swears by that stuff during flu season."

"Yeah," Maya managed, trying to play it cool. "Gotta stay healthy."

"For real." He gestured toward the water fountain down the hall. "You're supposed to take it with water, right? I've got, like, the best water bottle if you need to borrow it. It's insulated and everything."

Maya stared at him, processing this information. Jake had just offered her his water bottle. Jake had noticed she existed enough to offer her his water bottle. This was it. This was the moment every teen movie had prepared her for.

"I'd love that," she said, and the words came out easier than she expected. "Actually, I was gonna grab some after lunch anyway. You wanna...?"

Jake's face lit up. "Yeah! That'd be awesome."

As they walked toward the fountain together, Chloe caught Maya's eye from her own locker and mouthed, YOU'RE WELCOME.

Maya smiled, clutching her recovered vitamin bottle like a trophy. Operation Vitamin C: success.