Spinach Teeth & Static

Maya stood at the edge of the **pool**, clutching her red solo cup like a lifeline. The popular kids' end-of-summer party. She'd actually been invited. This was either the best night of her life or about to become the most humiliating.

She'd spent all week drinking those disgusting **spinach** smoothies because TikTok said they'd make your skin "glow." Instead, she was pretty sure she just had green bits stuck in her braces. Perfect.

"Hey, Maya!" Jake appeared beside her, dripping wet. Jake. The Jake who'd sat behind her in bio since freshman year. The Jake whose smile literally made her brain short-circuit.

Her **palms** were instantly sweaty. Great. "Hi!" she squeaked. Smooth, Maya. Real smooth.

"You coming in?" He splashed water at her.

"Maybe later." She couldn't let him see her thighs up close. Couldn't let him notice the spinach situation.

Suddenly, the sky went purple. A crack of **lightning** split the darkness – so close it made everyone scream.

"Party's inside!" someone shouted. chaos.

Maya scrambled toward the house, but her flip-flop caught on the patio edge. She went down hard – right into a puddle. Her red cup flew. Spinach-smoothie-green everywhere. On her white shirt. On her face.

She wanted to die. Actually die.

Then Jake was there, offering her a hand. "You okay?"

Humiliated, she started crying. "I have spinach in my teeth, don't I?"

Jake laughed, but not mean. "Maya, I've had spinach in my teeth since Tuesday. This week's been rough for everyone."

She looked up. He really did.

"Here." He used his thumb to wipe something off her chin. Lightning flashed again, illuminating everything. They were just two messy people covered in spinach smoothie, and somehow that was okay.

"Let's get cleaned up," he said. "And maybe, after this storm passes, you can teach me your smoothie recipe?"

Maya's heart did that thing again. The short-circuit thing. But this time, she didn't mind the static.