Papaya Smoothie Disaster

Maya stared at the papaya like it was radioactive. "Dude, you seriously want me to blend this?" The fruit sat there, looking like a mutant alien melon that had seen better days.

"Bro, it's for the 'Tropical Sunset' special. Mrs. Chen said we gotta use real fruit." Jake was already back on his phone, probably DMing his eighth crush this week.

Maya sighed. Her summer job at Paradise Smoothies was supposed to be chill vibes and free drinks, not handling questionable produce. Meanwhile, her parents had finally pulled the plug on cable TV after months of threatening it. Now she was stuck with whatever streaming service her brother wasn't already hogging.

"Whatever." Maya sliced into the papaya. The smell hit her—sweet, musky, straight-up weird. How was this supposed to be appetizing?

"YO, Maya!" Jake's head snapped up. "Creek's gonna be running the trail loop after his shift. You should totally go."

Yeah right. Like she was gonna go running with Creek, the track star who probably ate shredded wheat for breakfast and had never experienced social awkwardness in his entire perfect life.

"Pass," she mumbled, dumping the papaya chunks into the blender. But then Creek walked in, and Maya's brain short-circuited. He was wearing that tank top that showed way too much muscle, and suddenly she reconsidering the whole running thing.

"Hey Maya, hey Jake." Creek's voice was deeper in person. "You guys coming to the bonfire tonight?"

Jake was already nodding. "For sure. You bringing the—"

"The bear costume?" Creek laughed. "Yeah, gotta. It's senior tradition."

Maya paused. "Wait, what bear costume?"

Creek grinned, and Maya's stomach did that thing where it forgot how to organ. "Homecoming week mascot. I'm the bear this year. Gotta wear this giant fuzzy suit and everything."

The papaya smoothie was forgotten. Creek—the Creek who made straight A's and was probably going to some Ivy League school—had to dress up as a bear?

"That's iconic," she heard herself say. Because apparently her mouth was just saying words now without her permission.

"Right?" Creek leaned against the counter. "Hey, you wanna come with me to pick up the costume? After my shift?"

Jake made a face behind Creek's back that said OHHHHHHHH.

Maya's heart was definitely not supposed to be racing this fast. "Sure. Yeah. Cool."

"Bet." Creek headed to the back. "See you at five."

The bell above the door chimed as he left. Jake stared at her with wide eyes. "Maya and Creek sitting in a tree—"

"Shut up," she said, but she was smiling. The papaya smoothie on the counter didn't seem so gross anymore. Sometimes the weirdest ingredients made the best blends.