Spinach Lies & Orange Skies

Marcus's phone buzzed for the third time in Spanish class. Mrs. Gable shot him the look—the one that said she was three seconds away from confiscating it until June. He slid it under his desk anyway.

'Damien's being weird,' the text from Jada read. 'He said he's not coming to your bday thing. Called it 'mid.' Like, who even says that anymore?'

Marcus's stomach did that familiar twist thing, the one that happened whenever friend group politics got messy. Damien had been his best friend since sixth grade, back when they'd both gotten detention for launching paper airplanes off the bleachers during gym. Now Damien was reinventing himself, trading their inside jokes for vaping behind the bleachers with juniors who drove.

At lunch, Marcus found Jada at their usual table, picking at a spinach salad that looked sad and wilted.

'So?' Marcus asked, sliding his tray across from her. 'What happened with Damien?'

Jada sighed, pushing her orange soda away. 'I caught him talking to Sophia about how your party's gonna be lame. Said you're trying too hard. Which is rich, considering he showed up to school yesterday wearing his dad's old Polo shirt like he invented vintage fashion.'

'That's such bull,' Marcus said, even though it hurt more than he wanted to admit. 'He literally helped me plan it last week.'

'That's the thing about Damien,' Jada said, finally eating a spinach leaf. 'He's all in when it's just us, but the second someone cooler is around? He forgets who his real friends are.' She paused. 'You've got spinach in your teeth, by the way.'

Marcus wiped his mouth with his napkin. 'This whole thing is bogus. He's just... I don't know. Different.'

'People change,' Jada said, but she sounded bummed about it. 'Doesn't mean you have to be cool with it when they ditch you for image points.'

That night, Marcus texted Damien: 'Yo, heard you're not coming Saturday. If you've got a problem with me, just say it. Don't be fake about it.'

Three minutes later, his phone rang.

'My bad,' Damien said, sounding like the old Damien for once. 'Sophia was being weird about it. I don't know why I listened to her. You know how I get when I'm trying to impress people.'

'That doesn't make it okay,' Marcus said, even though part of him wanted to let it slide. 'You can't just talk trash about me and think I won't find out.'

'I know. I'm sorry. I'll be there Saturday. I'll even help you set up.'

'You'd better,' Marcus said. 'And bring those hot Cheetos you promised. For real this time.'

After he hung up, Marcus texted Jada: 'Damien's coming. We're good.'

Her reply came instantly: ' :) Still don't trust him fully, but that's your call. Also you STILL have spinach in your teeth from lunch 🙄'

Marcus laughed and finally brushed his teeth. Maybe friendship was messy. Maybe people changed and then changed back. Maybe the key wasn't holding onto who everyone used to be, but figuring out who they were becoming—together, slowly, awkward as spinach stuck in your teeth while everyone pretended not to notice.

Saturday came. Damien showed up early with the hot Cheetos, and Jada brought orange cupcakes with way too much sprinkles. And for the first time all week, Marcus felt like everything was exactly how it should be.