The Green Between My Teeth

Maya's reflection in the bathroom mirror showed exactly what she feared: a piece of spinach wedged between her front teeth, glowing like an emergency flare. She'd been talking to Jordan for twenty minutes. Twenty. Whole. Minutes.

Her iphone pinged from the counter — probably Chloe asking where she'd disappeared to. Jordan was waiting outside. Jordan, who sat at the top of the freshman social pyramid without even trying, whose laugh made Maya's chest feel weird, who had actually initiated conversation at Maya's older brother's party.

She scrubbed with her finger until her gums throbbed. The sink water swirled pink with toothpaste and regret.

"You good in there?" Chloe's voice carried through the door. "Jordan's lowkey wondering if you fell in."

"Coming!"

Maya's hands shook as she reached for the door handle. This was it. Her chance to make a real connection, and she'd spent it with green stuff in her teeth like some kind of social rejection mascot. The universe had a sick sense of humor.

But when she stepped outside, Jordan was still there, leaning against the porch railing, phone in hand. The backyard lights strung between trees made everything feel softer, more possible.

"There you are," Jordan said, looking up with that smile. "I was about to send a search party."

"Sorry. Bathroom emergency." Maya winced. "Cool thing to say on a Friday night."

Jordan laughed — really laughed. "Dude, last week I told Mr. Harrison my cat ate my homework because I forgot it at home and panicked. You're doing fine."

The tension in Maya's chest loosened. Maybe the spinach was just spinach. Maybe the social pyramid wasn't some unscalable mountain. Maybe Jordan was just a person who happened to be cute and funny and currently looking at Maya like she was worth waiting for.

"Want to get some water?" Jordan asked. "It's literally boiling in there."

"Yeah," Maya said, and for the first time all night, she meant it. "Yeah, I'd like that."