The Great Papaya Fiasco

Maya's summer had been a total flop until the day her tía's pet bull escaped. Now, Maya was crouched behind the counter at Family Market, her iPhone clutched in sweaty hands, recording the chaos unfolding in Aisle 3.

"Bucky! NO! BAD BOY!" Tía Carmen shouted, chasing after the 1,200-pound animal who was currently sniffing the papayas with suspicious interest.

Maya had begged her mom to let her spend summer at her tía's farm instead of doing that fancy vitamin camp her friends were all posting about on Insta. "It'll be character-building," she'd promised. And honestly? She'd rather be here, in the middle of this ridiculousness, than listening to some influencer talk about gut health for $2,000 a week.

Bucky the bull—yes, that was actually his name, and yes, Maya had already posted about it—snorted and nudged a papaya with his wet nose. The fruit rolled across the floor like an orange grenade.

"That's premium!" Tía Carmen wailed. "Those are from the special shipment!"

The papaya kept rolling, picking up speed, and crashed directly into a pyramid of vitamin supplements. The display exploded in slow motion—little bottles of vitamin C, calcium, and fish oil clattering everywhere like multicolored confetti.

Maya couldn't help it. She wheezed, laughing so hard she nearly dropped her phone. This was gold. Absolute gold.

That's when she saw him—Ethan, the cute guy from the high school she'd be attending in September, standing by the entrance, looking equal parts horrified and amused.

Maya's stomach did that flip-floppy thing it always did in romantic comedies. She'd been low-key stalking his socials for weeks. Now here she was, hiding behind a counter while a bull destroyed her aunt's produce section.

Ethan caught her eye. Instead of looking away, he pulled out his own iPhone and started recording too. Then he flashed her a thumbs-up.

"Is this normal?" he called out, grinning.

Maya stood up, her face hot but not in a bad way. "Only on Tuesdays."

Bucky let out a satisfied burp. Somewhere, a papaya met its unfortunate end.

Summer might have been weird so far, but Maya had a feeling it was about to get a whole lot more interesting.