Spinach in the Deep End

Maya's palms were sweating so hard she might actually water the plants. This was it — Jennifer's legendary end-of-summer pool party, and somehow, awkward freshman Maya had scored an invite.

"Just don't be weird," she whispered to herself, adjusting her bikini for the fiftieth time.

The backyard was already popping. TikTok blasting, seniors clustered around the massive inflatable pool, someone's little brother splashing everywhere with a giant pink bear floatie. Everything was going fine until Tyler, the cute junior she'd been lowkey obsessing over since August, actually approached her.

"Hey, you're in my English class, right?" He smiled. Maya's brain short-circuited.

"Yeah! Totally! I sit like... somewhere behind you probably!" Why did she sound like a malfunctioning robot?

Tyler laughed, thank god. "Cool. Want some chips? My mom went overboard with the snacks."

Maya's stomach chose that exact moment to unleash the loudest growl in human history. But she played it cool. "Uh, yeah. For sure."

She grabbed what she thought was a spinach artichoke dip situation, took a confident bite, and immediately realized it was raw spinach. Just straight-up leaves. Because of course it was.

Her mouth was full. Tyler was still looking at her. She couldn't just spit it out — that would be socially catastrophic. So she did what any rational person would do: swallowed an entire mouthful of raw spinach like her life depended on it.

"That's... healthy?" Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"I'm really into fitness now," she choked out. A piece of spinach lodged dramatically in her front teeth.

Some girl screamed from the pool. Maya looked over just in time to see the bear floatie capsize, sending its rider face-first into the water. Everyone laughed. Good-natured chaos. This was fine. Everything was fine.

"Cool," Tyler said. "Well, see you in class."

He walked away. Still smiling.

Maya rushed to the bathroom, locked the door, and stared at her reflection. Spinach in her teeth. Hair half-frizzed from humidity. Surviving her first cool-kid party with zero dignity intact.

She started laughing. Couldn't stop. Being fifteen was actually ridiculous.

Her phone buzzed. New follower: @tyler_henderson.

Maybe surviving was enough. Maybe surviving was the whole point.