Spinach Lightning Strike

Maya's heart hammered like a bass drop as she stepped into the house party. Her best friend Priya had already ditched her for some seniors, leaving Maya hovering near the snack table like a loser. She grabbed an orange slice, hoping it would make her look busy and not like someone who didn't belong.

Then she saw him: Liam, the cute junior from her bio class. He was actually walking toward her. Maya's stomach did that weird flip thing.

"Hey Maya, nice shirt," he said, smiling.

"Thanks!" she beamed, flashing her biggest smile. They talked for like five minutes about their bio project and somehow she was actually being cool and funny and not awkward.

Then Priya appeared out of nowhere, eyes wide. "Maya, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Give me one second," Maya told Liam, confident and smooth.

"You have huge spinach in your teeth," Priya whispered. "Like, the entire time."

Maya's face burned like she'd been struck by lightning. All that confidence? Gone. She'd been flirting with spinach in her teeth for five minutes.

"I'm gonna go," Maya mumbled to Liam, practically running to the bathroom.

She stared at herself in the mirror, wanting to die. But then she noticed something: she'd been so nervous about the party that she'd forgotten to even eat dinner. The spinach wasn't even spinach—it was a piece of orange pulp from the slice she'd grabbed.

Maya started laughing. Like, really laughing. She'd been mortified over orange pulp?

When she finally came out, Liam was still there. "Everything good?"

"Yeah," Maya said, realizing something important. "Actually, everything's great."

She'd survived her most embarrassing moment ever and lived. If she could handle that, she could handle anything.

Plus, Liam still thought her shirt was nice. That was something.