The Green Smile

Jordan adjusted the vintage fedora she'd spent thirty minutes styling perfectly. This was it—the first real party of sophomore year, and she was finally going to talk to Maya, the girl who sat behind her in homeroom and always had the best responses to Mr. Henderson's questions. Jordan's stomach did that nervous flutter thing.

She grabbed spinach artichoke dip from the snack table, trying to look casual. Tyler's house was already packed, bass thumping through the floorboards. She spotted Maya near the sliding glass door, laughing at something. This was her chance.

Jordan made her way over, rehearsing her opening line. She took a bite of the dip, realized too late it was way hotter than expected, and—

"JORDAN!" someone screamed from the backyard. "YOUR DOG IS HERE!"

Wait, what?

Buster, her elderly golden retriever who never left the couch unless food was involved, came bursting through the back door with surprising determination. He'd escaped somehow.

Buster spotted Maya. Maya, who loved dogs. Maya, who was now crouching down, cooing, "Oh my god, who's this good boy?" Jordan could've died right there. But she rushed over to grab Buster's collar, apologizing profusely.

Maya looked up, grinning. "Is he yours? He's perfect." Then her expression shifted. "Um, Jordan? You've got—" She pointed to her own teeth.

Spinach. Bright green, undeniable spinach wedged between Jordan's two front teeth.

Jordan's face burned hotter than the dip had. "I, um—"

But Maya was laughing, not mean laughing. The good kind. "I'm so glad you came," she said, still scratching Buster behind the ears. "I was hoping you would. I love your hat, by the way. It's so... you."

Jordan froze. She liked it? The hat she'd stressed over for hours?

"Can I get you a napkin?" Maya asked, standing up. "And then maybe we could hang out?"

Buster chose that moment to shake himself vigorously. Both girls jumped back, laughing, and for the first time all night, Jordan felt herself actually relax. The hat stayed on. The spinach could wait. And somehow, the worst possible series of events had turned into something exactly right.