Papaya Stains and Perfect Hats

Maya's first mistake was wearing the hat. It was her dad's vintage fedora, something she'd throw on to hide the fact that she hadn't washed her hair in three days. But now, sitting across from Liam—the cutest sophomore in AP Bio—she felt like a fraud.

"So, what'd you bring?" Liam asked, nodding at her lunch tray.

She'd packed weird stuff, thanks to her mom's new health kick. Papaya chunks, spinach leaves, and these horse-pill vitamins her mom swore would help her "think clearer during exams." She'd choked one down that morning, and it still tasted like chalk and regret.

"Just... fruit. And stuff."

"Cool," he said, but his eyes drifted past her to where Chloe and her clique sat, laughing with perfect smoothies and probably matching playlists.

Maya's dog, Buster, had eaten her actual lunch that morning—her favorite hoodie too—and she was already running late when she grabbed whatever her mom had prepped in those weird containers. Now she was stuck pretending that papaya was something normal people ate voluntarily.

"Want some?" she heard herself say, pushing the container forward like an idiot.

Liam blinked. "What is it?"

"Papaya?" Her voice squeaked. "It's... exotic. My mom's really into superfoods."

"Nice," he said, and she watched him—watched Liam freaking Martinez—put a piece in his mouth. And then she saw it. A bright green chunk of spinach stuck between her front teeth.

Every teen movie ever flashed before her eyes. All those cringe compilations she'd laughed at, thinking that'd never be her. She was halfway through reaching for her napkin when Chloe walked past, glanced at her, and whispered something to her friends. They all laughed. Maya's face burned.

But then Liam swallowed. "Actually, that's not bad."

Maya froze. "Really?"

"Yeah." He leaned in. "Your hat's kinda cool, by the way. Vintage?"

She could've died. Instead, she smiled—spinach be damned—and said, "Yeah. It's my dad's."

Maybe high school wasn't a teen movie. Maybe sometimes, papaya-eating, hat-wearing girls got the guy. And maybe tomorrow she'd actually wash her hair.

"Want the rest?" she asked.

Liam grinned. "Only if you tell me where you got it."