Spinach Teeth and Starting Lines

Maya's first day of freshman year, and she's already *dead*. Like, actually deceased from embarrassment.

Third period lunch. She's sitting with the cross country team because her older sister insisted joining would help her "find her people." Instead, Maya discovered she had *spinach* wedged between her front teeth—visible from across the cafeteria—while trying to impress senior captain Jessica.

"Your teeth," Jessica had whispered, grimacing. "You've got... like, a whole situation happening there."

Maya had practically run to the bathroom, *running* so hard her new Nikes squeaked against the linoleum. She spent the rest of lunch hiding in a stall, contemplating transferring schools.

Now it's Friday afternoon, and Maya's at her first cross country meet. She's wearing her lucky bucket *hat*—the kind fishermen wear—pulled low because apparently she's committed to the bit now. Might as well lean into the weird girl thing.

"You ready, Fisherman Girl?" Jessica calls from the starting line. The team's been calling her that all week. Maya doesn't hate it.

The gun goes off. Maya takes off, her asthma inhaler bouncing in her pocket. Her plan: survive three miles without dying, then never run again.

Mile two. Maya's lungs are burning, her legs are jelly, and she's seriously questioning every life choice that led to this moment. Then some freshman from the rival school passes her, struggling hard, breathing like a dying *bear*.

Suddenly, Maya gets it. Everyone's struggling. Everyone's trying to prove something.

She pushes harder.

At the water station, Maya grabs a cup, splashes some *water* on her face, and keeps going. Her hat falls off somewhere around mile 2.5, but she doesn't stop.

She finishes middle of the pack. Not terrible. Not great. But when Jessica hands her a Gatorade afterward and says, "Not bad, Fisherman," Maya realizes she might actually have found her people.

That night, Maya sends a selfie to the team group chat—hat back on, spinach-free teeth, post-race hair a disaster.

Caption: *bear mode activated*.

Jessica hearts it immediately.

Maybe freshman year won't be so bad after all.