The Green Between My Teeth

Maya's mom swore that spinach would make her hair shine brighter than a Disney princess's. Spoiler alert: it didn't. But here she was, at Jason's pool party, picking microscopic green bits out of her braces with her tongue while pretending to laugh at someone's joke.

The water glittered like liquid diamonds, and everyone was already swimming. Jason—captain of the swim team, owner of the smile that could probably stop traffic—stood at the edge of the pool.

"Maya! You coming in or what?" He called.

She froze. Her hair was frizzing in the humidity, she had zero clue if her swimsuit was actually cute or just tragic, and she was pretty sure there was still spinach wedged somewhere in her dental disaster zone.

"Give her a break," said Tyler, this senior who'd somehow morphed from awkward freshman to actually hot over the summer. He lounged on a pool float like he owned the place. "Maybe she's just taking in the view."

Everyone laughed. Not mean laughter—like, actual laughter. Maya felt her face burning hotter than a phone with 47 apps open.

Jason's older brother, Chad (seriously, who names their kid Chad in 2026?), materialized behind her. He was basically a human bull—massive shoulders, zero chill, constantly shouting everything. "YO MAYA, GET IN THE WATER OR I'M CARRYING YOU IN!"

The group erupted in OOOOHs. Maya's social life flashed before her eyes.

Then she caught Tyler's eye. He gave this tiny, barely-there nod. Like he got it. Like being at a pool party felt less like hanging out and more like walking across a stage while everyone judged your outfit, your body, your entire existence.

Something in Maya snapped. Not like, crazy snapped. More like, *whatever* snapped.

She pulled her hair into a messy bun—frizz and all—grabbed Chad's arm, and shouted, "RACE YOU TO THE OTHER SIDE!"

Before he could process what was happening, she launched herself into the water. The shock of cool against her skin was everything. She surfaced to find Jason and Tyler staring at her like she'd just performed magic.

"That was," Jason said, grinning, "actually pretty sick."

"Pretty sick?" Chad roared, finally cannonballing in beside her. "THAT WAS EPIC!"

Maya floated there, treading water in her messy bun and one-piece that definitely wasn't Instagram perfect, laughing as Chad splashed everyone in sight. Later, she'd discover there was zero spinach in her teeth. Not that it mattered. Sometimes the stuff you're stressing about isn't even real. And sometimes the stuff that *is* real—like cannonballing into the deep end—is exactly what you need.