Spinach Teeth Survival Guide

Maya dragged herself into first period looking like a member of the walking dead. Three hours of sleep would do that to you—thanks to that zombie movie marathon she definitely should've skipped on a school night.

"You look rough, bestie," Trina whispered, sliding into the desk beside her. "Rougher than my phone screen after I dropped it at that party."

"I feel like a literal zombie," Maya mumbled, resting her head on her backpack. "If Tyler tries to talk to me today, I'm done for."

Speaking of the devil—there he was. Tyler Evans, with his perfectly messy dark hair and that smile that made girls forget their own names. He was walking straight toward her.

Maya's heart did that stupid fluttery thing it always did around him. She sat up straighter, attempted to smooth her hopelessly tangled hair, and prayed there wasn't drool on her face.

"Hey Maya," he said, leaning against her desk. "So, about the spring fling..."

"Yeah?" she squeaked. Smooth. Real smooth.

"I was wondering if you'd—" He paused, frowning slightly. "You have something in your teeth."

The world ended. Right there. In first period. Maya's face burned hotter than a thousand suns. She excused herself and practically sprinted to the bathroom, where she discovered a vibrant green piece of spinach wedged firmly between her front teeth.

From her mom's smoothie. That she'd had for breakfast. Four hours ago.

She brushed and rinsed and considered transferring schools. Maybe moving to another country. Changing her name.

When she finally returned, Tyler was still there, waiting. And he wasn't laughing.

"I was gonna ask if you'd help me with the science fair project," he finished, like nothing had happened. "But I can see you're going through it today."

Maya blinked. "Wait, you still want to talk to me? After the spinach incident?"

"Dude, everyone gets food in their teeth," he said, shrugging. "Last week? I had a whole orange slice stuck to my back tooth during my presentation. Took me twenty minutes to get it out."

The bell rang, but Maya couldn't stop grinning as she walked to her next class. Maybe tomorrow she'd actually take the bull by the horns and ask him to hang out properly. Spinach disasters and all.