The Cable TV Incident

Maya's summer job at Miller's Farm was supposed to be chill. Just feed some chickens, collect eggs, and avoid Old Man Miller's prize-winning bull, Bessie (yes, Bessie, don't ask). The real challenge wasn't the animals though — it was Tyler, the cute volunteer who showed up every Saturday.

"Hey Maya," Tyler said, leaning against the fence while she mucked out stalls. "Want to hang after? My parents got this new cable package with, like, every channel ever. We could marathon something."

Maya's heart did that annoying fluttery thing. "Yeah, sounds lit." Then she remembered: she'd brought spinach and feta wraps for lunch because she was trying to be healthy and impress him with her mature food choices. But the spinach was notorious for getting stuck in teeth, and she didn't have a mirror.

She spent the next hour obsessively checking her reflection in her phone, convinced she had green bits everywhere. When Tyler finally suggested they head to his house, Maya was so focused on her dental emergency that she didn't notice the gate to Bessie's pen was unlatched.

"Wait," Tyler said, grabbing her arm. "Did you hear that?"

A low snort echoed behind them. Bessie, the 2,000-pound bull with a surprisingly dainty name, had escaped. She stared at them with what looked suspiciously like amusement.

"Nope," Maya said, grabbing Tyler's hand and sprinting toward the equipment shed. They scrambled inside just as Bessie's nose appeared through the door.

"So," Tyler said, breathless, as they huddled in the corner. "This isn't exactly how I pictured our hang."

Maya started laughing, genuinely laughing, and it was then she noticed Tyler had spinach in his teeth. From the wraps he'd eaten earlier. She didn't say anything, just smiled wider.

"You know what?" she said. "This is way better than cable."