The Cafeteria Mission

Marcus adjusted his beat-up dad hat, pulling the brim low. In his head, he wasn't just walking to lunch — he was on a mission. Operation: Talk to Jenna. Again.

Third period. The cafeteria chaos. Marcus positioned himself behind the pillar near the salad bar, feeling like a total spy. Jenna was at her usual table, laughing with her friends, her sun-catching hair doing that thing that made his chest feel weird.

"You good?" Ty appeared beside him, holding a tray of pizza squares. "You've been staring at that pillar for five minutes."

"I'm observing," Marcus said, chin up. "Gathering intel."

"Bruh." Ty shook his head. "You're not a spy. You're just thirsty."

Marcus ignored him. This was it. He'd practiced what to say all morning. He straightened his hat, took a breath, and started toward her table. His heart was doing jumping jacks. Jenna looked up and their eyes met — she actually smiled at him.

Then her smile faltered. Confused, Marcus kept walking.

"Your," she started, then stopped. "Never mind."

"Hey Jenna, I —"

"There's spinach," someone at her table said. "Like, all in your teeth."

Marcus froze. The entire table went silent. He could feel his face burning hotter than the cafeteria pizza.

"Everywhere," Jenna added, wincing.

He turned and walked away, fast, hearing someone say "wait" behind him but not stopping. Outside, near the bike racks, he yanked his hat off and ran his hands through his hair. Stupid. So stupid. He'd been stalking her like a weirdo and now he'd be known as Spinach Boy forever.

"Marcus!"

Jenna caught up to him, breathless. Her cheeks were pink.

"I'm so sorry," she said quickly. "That was — I shouldn't have laughed. I was nervous, honestly."

"Nervous?" Marcus blinked. "Why?"

"Because you were walking over to talk to me and I've wanted you to forever but I never thought you'd actually do it." She stepped closer. "Also, I didn't want to tell you about the spinach because I thought you'd leave, but then I felt bad not saying anything —"

"You've wanted to talk to me?" A slow grin spread across his face. "Since when?"

"Since September." She shrugged. "When you let me borrow your pen in English and didn't make it weird."

Ty appeared in the doorway, holding up Marcus's abandoned tray. "Y'all coming back inside? The pizza's getting cold."

"We're good," Marcus called back. "Hey Ty —"

"Yeah?"

"You're a good friend. Even if you have no chill."

Jenna laughed, and it was better than Marcus had imagined. "My friend Chloe has gum," she said. "For your teeth. If you want."

"I'd like that," Marcus said. "A lot."

They stood there for a moment, grinning like idiots, until the lunch bell rang.