Spinach Teeth and the Big Game

Maya's reflection in the bathroom mirror confirmed her worst fear: a massive piece of **spinach** wedged between her front teeth. Of course this would happen right before the biggest party of sophomore year, the one where Jake—the cute junior from AP Bio—would definitely be there.

"You good, May?" Sarah called through the door. "Jake's gonna leave if you don't hurry up."

"Coming!" Maya scrubbed furiously with her finger until the green invader surrendered. "Just had a spinach situation."

Sarah burst in, already wearing her signature **orange** lipstick that Maya could never pull off. "Girl, you've been acting like a nervous **cat** all week. It's just a party."

Easy for her to say. Sarah was naturally **bear**-hugging the spotlight since kindergarten, while Maya had spent her life practicing the art of blending into the background. Until this semester, when she'd finally started freshman year with something resembling confidence.

The party was already in full swing when they arrived. Some lacrosse bros were playing beer pong in the kitchen, and someone's unleashed dog—a massive English **bull**dog—was waddling through the crowd like it owned the place. The whole scene felt overwhelmingly... high school.

Jake appeared out of nowhere, all messy hair and easy smile. "Hey Maya! Sarah said you're pretty good at Spanish. I'm bombing it, you think you could help me study sometime?"

Maya's brain short-circuited. "Oh. Yeah, totally. I mean—yes, that would be cool. Very cool. Normal amount of cool."

Sarah shot her a look that said *please stop talking*.

"Awesome," Jake said, already backing away. "See you around."

Maya watched him disappear into the crowd, heart hammering against her ribs. She'd survived. Actually, she'd done better than survive—she'd made plans with Jake.

"Okay," Sarah whispered, "I know you're freaking out, but that was actually smooth. For you."

Maya laughed, some of the tension finally leaking out of her shoulders. Maybe sophomore year wouldn't be so bad after all. Even with the spinach emergencies and near-disasters, she was figuring it out—one awkward, terrifying, exhilarating moment at a time.