Spinach in the Palm

Maya's hand shook as she extended it toward Madame Zora's crystal ball. The air inside the purple tent smelled like incense and desperation. Outside, the spring carnival roared with screams from the tilt-a-whirl and bass from the main stage.

"I see..." Madame Zora traced the lines on Maya's palm with a nail polished chipped black. "A great moment approaches. You will speak your truth, and it will change everything."

Maya pulled her hand back, heart racing. This was it—the sign she'd been waiting for. For months, she'd been crushing on Leo, who sat two rows ahead in AP Bio, always wearing that beat-up corduroy hat that slid over his eyes when he was thinking. Tonight, she'd finally tell him how she felt.

She found him by the food trucks, laughing with his friends. Maya's stomach did somersaults. She grabbed a spinach artichoke dip from a nearby stand to calm her nerves—big mistake. The dip was basically molten lava, and it splattered onto her favorite white shirt as she took a bite.

But worse: she felt something green lodged between her front teeth.

Maya ducked behind a funnel cake stand, frantically digging with her tongue. No luck. She checked her phone camera—yep, visible from space. Spinach. Of course. Just as Leo started walking toward her.

"Hey Maya!" He grinned, tugging his corduroy hat lower. "You heading to Madame Zora's? She told me I'd meet someone important tonight."

Maya's face burned. This was it—the moment the palm reader had promised. But she couldn't confess with spinach in her teeth. That was, like, objectively the worst timing in the history of forever.

Leo stepped closer, and Maya made a split-second decision. She reached up, snatched his hat right off his head, and slapped it on her own.

"I need this," she said, pointing to her mouth. "Spinach emergency. Don't look at me."

Leo stared for a second, then burst out laughing. "Dude, that's way better with your outfit anyway."

Something in his laugh was so genuine, so unguarded, that Maya stopped caring. She dug out the spinach with her finger while he watched, completely unfazed.

"So," she said, handing back his hat. "About that 'meeting someone important' thing..."

Leo's grin widened. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The ferris wheel lit up overhead, and for the first time all night, Maya wasn't nervous at all.