Strikeout in the Salad Line

The cafeteria smell hit me like always — tater tots and floor wax and whatever mysterious meat they were serving today. But today was different. Today was THE day.

I'd been **running** scenarios in my head all morning. Jordan, leaning against the lockers, me saying something cool and effortless. Except I was the opposite of cool and effortless. My palms were literally sweating through my jeans.

"Earth to Maya," Chloe said, sliding her tray next to mine. "You're staring at his back. Again."

"I'm not staring," I lied, absolutely staring. "I'm observing. There's a difference."

"You're being creepy," she whispered. "Just go talk to him."

"About what? 'Hey, I like your **baseball** jersey'? 'Nice arms'?"

"Literally anything except staring from across the cafeteria like you're plotting to kidnap him."

I sighed and stabbed at my salad. Mom had packed it — organic **spinach**, cherry tomatoes, something healthy that felt like a betrayal of my teenage soul. Who brought salad to school on purpose?

"Okay, watch this," I said, suddenly brave. "I'm gonna do it."

"You're gonna WHAT?"

"Talk to him."

Before Chloe could stop me, I grabbed my backpack and headed toward Jordan's table. Heart pounding. Thoughts racing. Why hadn't I checked my reflection? Why was I wearing THIS shirt? Why did my mom pack spinach of all things —

That's when Jordan turned around.

And smiled.

At me.

"Hey," he said. "You dropped this."

My brain short-circuited. "Thanks?"

"Your money," he said, holding up a five-dollar bill. "Back at the salad line. You were kinda running off and didn't notice."

My face burned. Of course he'd seen me. Of course.

"Thanks," I managed, grabbing it. "I was... in a hurry."

"Yeah, I figured." He gestured to the empty seat across from him. "You wanna...?"

"Wanna what?"

"Sit? Unless you're in a hurry to not be here."

I sat. And somewhere between the tater tots and the floor wax smell, between Jordan's baseball stories and me accidentally admitting I'd never watched a full game, between the two of us laughing about how much we both hated spinach but ate it anyway because moms will be moms...

Somewhere there, I stopped running scenarios in my head.

And started actually living one.