Papara-zi Dreams

Maya's palms were sweating so much her iPhone nearly slipped from her grip. In the group chat, Sarah had just posted: pool party at Jake's house, 2pm. BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.

Jake. The guy whose hair fell perfectly across his forehead like he'd personally consulted the gods of genetics. The guy Maya had been low-key stalking on Instagram since seventh grade.

Problem: Maya owned exactly zero swimwear that didn't make her feel like a potato attempting to pass as a beach ball. Problem two: she was pretty sure the last time she'd been in a swimsuit, her grandmother had called her "healthy-looking" three times.

"You going?" asked Leo, her lab partner, appearing beside her locker.

"Obviously," Maya lied, then immediately regretted it. "You?"

"Nah. Parties aren't really my scene." Leo adjusted his glasses. "I'm helping my dad with the food truck again. We're doing this new papaya smoothie thing."

"Papaya? Seriously?"

"It's underrated! Don't knock it 'til you try it." He grinned, and Maya noticed for the first time that Leo had nice teeth. Not that she noticed teeth. This was irrelevant information.

Saturday arrived like a death sentence. Maya's mother dropped her off wearing the world's most unflattering tankini (it had been on sale, justice was dead). Inside Jake's house, the air smelled like expensive candles and potential social ruin.

She lasted seventeen minutes before retreating to the kitchen to fake an intense interest in a bowl of fruit. Someone had cut up actual papaya, its orange flesh gleaming like alien insides.

"Weird, right?"

Maya jumped. Jake stood there, shirtless, droplets of pool water still clinging to his shoulders. This was it. The moment. Her heart performed something that felt less like beating and more like attempting to escape her chest cavity.

"Yeah," she managed. "Very... tropical."

"My mom's obsessed with exotic fruit." Jake picked up a piece. "Wanna try some?"

Maya's brain supplied approximately zero helpful suggestions. She nodded.

He fed it to her. He ACTUALLY fed it to her. His fingers brushed her lip and her whole face went nuclear. The papaya was sweet, musky, utterly unlike anything she'd ever tasted.

"So," Jake said, leaning closer, "I saw you left your phone outside by the pool. You were getting all those notifications. Everything okay?"

Maya's stomach dropped. Her notifications. From the group chat. Where Sarah had posted that photo of Maya from last year's dance, captioned: throwback to BEFORE Maya discovered the concept of style lol

"Everything's fine," she said, but her voice cracked.

Jake's phone buzzed. He checked it and laughed. "Oh man, Sarah posted you in the group chat. That dance photo? That's—I mean, you looked so different."

"Different," Maya repeated. The word hung between them like toxic smoke.

"I mean, you've really... evolved?" Jake tried, but his face said everything. I mean, you used to be pretty approachable and now you're kind of a lot.

Maya's phone pinged again. Another notification. Another laugh emoji.

She walked out. Not dramatic. Not crying. Just out.

The food truck was parked three blocks away, its bear logo painted on the side. Leo stood inside, blending papaya like his life depended on it.

"One smoothie," Maya said, sliding into the seat. "Make it strong."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Rough party?"

"Jake showed me a photo of myself from before I "evolved."" Maya air-quoted so hard she nearly sprained a finger. "Apparently, I used to be more approachable."

"Oof." Leo handed her a cup. "This one's on the house. For emotional damages."

"You know what's messed up?" Maya said, tasting the papaya—sweet, strange, unapologetically itself. "I spent weeks trying to be the kind of person Jake would like. But the person in that photo? She liked herself."

"Okay, hear me out," Leo said. "What if you just... kept being weird about fruit? That's literally your brand now."

Maya laughed, and something loosened in her chest. She pulled out her iPhone and opened the group chat. Sarah had tagged her in seven more throwbacks.

Maya typed: lol i forgot how awesome that outfit was. definitely bringing this energy back.

"Leo," she said, "if you ever need a taste tester, I'm your girl."

"Only if you stop pretending to like pool parties,"

"Deal."

Her phone buzzed. Jake had replied: you always look good tbh.

Maya didn't respond. Some things, she decided, were better left in the chat history where they belonged.