Spinach in Your Teeth

Maya's palms were sweating—like, actually sweating—through the fake tattoo she'd drawn on her hand earlier. "Chill, you're being weird," Chloe said, flipping her hair with that practiced, effortless motion that made everything look easy. Chloe was a fox, honestly. The kind of person who knew everyone's secrets and somehow still got invited to everything. Maya? She was more like the awkward spinach stuck between society's teeth.

The house party thumped with bass that vibrated through Maya's Converse. Someone's older brother had hooked up speakers to the back patio, where kids were gathered around a fire pit, roasting what looked like marshmallows but definitely weren't marshmallows. Maya gripped her red Solo cup like it was a lifeline.

"So," Tyler said, sliding up next to her. Tyler played football, had that messy hair that looked somehow intentional, and currently had a piece of spinach wedged between his front teeth. It was aggressively visible. Maya felt the urge to tell him warring with the urge to never speak again. "You come here often?" He winced immediately. "Wow, I literally just said that. I'm so sorry."

Maya laughed despite herself. "Bold of you to assume I ever come anywhere."

"Fair." He leaned against the wall, sort of melting into it. "I'm just... trying to bear existing tonight, you know? Like, pretending to be a functional human being is exhausting."

The spinach mocked her from between his teeth. It was truly egregious.

"You have spinach in your teeth," Maya said, because apparently her brain-to-mouth filter had completely checked out.

Tyler froze. His face went through like five stages of grief in three seconds. "Oh my god. How long?"

"Since you started talking to me."

"And you didn't say anything immediately?!"

"I was paralyzed by second-hand embarrassment!"

They stood there for a second, and then they were both laughing. Actually laughing, not the fake polite laugh Maya used when teachers made bad jokes. Her palms weren't sweating anymore. She held out her hand—tattoo and all—and he high-fived her. "I'm Maya, by the way."

"Tyler. Obviously." He ducked inside to fix the spinach situation. "Wait for me?"

Maya nodded, watching him go. Chloe was watching from across the room, looking impressed, which felt weirdly validating. But honestly? Maya didn't care about impressing Chloe anymore. She'd just survived a conversation with a cute guy while telling him he had food in his teeth, and somehow—miraculously—it had gone okay. She sipped her punch and leaned back against the wall, feeling something like hope flicker in her chest. Maybe this year wouldn't completely suck after all.