Spinach Smile and the Sphinx

Maya's life officially reached peak awkward at 2:47 PM on a Tuesday when she realized she'd been talking to Tyler—aka the Sphinx of Northwood High—with a massive wad of **spinach** stuck in her braces for the entire conversation.

The fact that Tyler was the Sphinx wasn't just some random nickname. The guy was a literal mystery—six-foot-two, captain of the varsity **baseball** team, and apparently incapable of speaking more than three words at a time. Girls spent whole lunch periods trying to decode his monosyllabic responses like he was some ancient riddle.

Now here Maya was, having just spent five minutes explaining her AP Bio project while her teeth looked like a salad disaster zone.

She rushed to the bathroom, splashed cold **water** on her face, and stared at herself in the mirror. This was it. The moment she became a legend in the worst way. #SpinachGirl would be her identity forever.

"You good?"

Maya jumped. Tyler stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame like this was totally normal. The Sphinx. In the girls' bathroom. Because of course.

"I'm the definition of good," she lied, her voice cracking.

He nodded slowly, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a single floss pick. "My sister has braces too."

Maya stared at him. Was this real life?

"You're like... actually helpful?" she said. "I thought your whole deal was being mysterious and unapproachable."

Tyler shrugged, the tiniest smile playing at his lips. "People think I'm quiet because I'm cool. Really I'm just overthinking everything like eighty percent of the time."

He handed her the floss. "Also, you had spinach in your teeth during your whole presentation about mitochondria. Nobody said anything because you were actually nailing it."

Maya felt her face burn, but then she started laughing. Tyler joined in, and for the first time all year, the Sphinx seemed like just a guy who maybe, possibly, wanted to talk to her about something other than ancient Egyptian riddles.

"Want to get food?" he asked. " somewhere with no spinach."

Maya grinned. "I'd like that."