Spinach Smile

Maya's palms were sweating so bad she could practically slide right out of Skylar's basement. First real party of freshman year, and she was already freaking out. The beat from some trash rap song thumped against her chest as she leaned against the wall, trying to look chill.

"Hey, Maya!" Jenna appeared with that perfect smile that made everyone want to be her friend. "You trying that dip? It's actually fire."

Maya grabbed a chip, dipped it in something green and chunky, and took a bite. Not bad. She and Jenna had been besties since kindergarten, but lately Jenna had been leveling up socially while Maya stayed stuck in the background.

"Oh my god, Tyler's looking at you," Jenna squealed, grabbing Maya's arm. "Go talk to him!"

Maya's heart did that stupid fluttery thing. Tyler Chen, varsity basketball, actually nice to everyone, and currently standing by the soda table looking adorably awkward. This was it. Her moment.

She headed over, nerves making her palms slick. "Hey, Tyler. Nice party."

"Maya, right?" He smiled, all bright and genuine. "Yeah, Skylar goes hard. You having fun?"

"Totally!" That's when she felt it—a tiny piece of spinach wedged between her front teeth. From the dip. From five minutes ago.

Her entire life flashed before her eyes.

She needed a mirror. Now. She scanned for Jenna, but her so-called best friend was across the room, taking a selfie with the popular crowd, completely ignoring Maya's help-me eyes.

Then Kelsey from her English class appeared. Kelsey, who sat in the back row and always wore those beat-up Converse. She leaned in close. "You got something in your teeth. Spinach, I think."

Instead of making it weird or laughing, Kelsey just handed her a compact mirror from her bag like it was the most normal thing ever.

"Thanks," Maya whispered, fixing it. "You're literally saving my life."

"No problem." Kelsey shrugged. "Last month at lunch, I walked around with chocolate all over my face for like twenty minutes before anyone told me. We gotta look out for each other, you know?"

We gotta look out for each other.

Something shifted in Maya's chest. She glanced across the room at Jenna, still posing for photos, totally absorbed in her social climb. Then back at Kelsey, who was just chilling, being real.

"Hey," Maya said, wiping her now-damp palms on her jeans. "You wanna get some food? I'm starving, and I'm definitely not eating anything green ever again."

Kelsey grinned. "Deal. I saw they have pizza."

As they walked toward the kitchen, Maya caught Tyler's eye one more time. Whatever. Maybe next time. Right now, she'd rather hang with someone who'd tell her about the spinach in her teeth than leave her hanging for a photo op.

Real friends don't let you walk around with spinach in your teeth. That's the tea.