The Green Smile

The bass from Maya's garage party thumped in my chest as I smoothed my polo for the thousandth time. Tonight was the night. After weeks of liking Jordan from AP Bio, I'd finally worked up the courage to actually talk to him.

"You good, bro?" Marcus asked, gesturing with his solo cup. "You look like you're about to puke."

"I'm chill," I lied, straightening my spine. "Just ready to make a move."

My phone buzzed. Mom: "Don't forget, your aunt's farm tomorrow at 8 AM. We're helping with the bull."

I groaned. Nothing like agricultural responsibilities to kill the vibe.

Jordan appeared near the snack table, looking unfairly good in his varsity jacket. My stomach did gymnastics. This was it. I grabbed a handful of chips to look natural and headed over.

"Hey Jordan!" I called, maybe too loud. "What's up?"

He turned, grinning. "Oh hey! I didn't know you were coming."

"Yeah, just decided to swing by."

We fell into easy conversation about bio class and the upcoming game. I was killing it. Being funny, being chill. Then Maya's mom brought out a veggie platter with spinach dip, and I decided to act like I was sophisticated and healthy.

"This dip's actually fire," I said, scooping some onto a pita chip. "You gotta try it."

Jordan laughed. "I'll stick to chips."

"Your loss."

We talked for another twenty minutes. I was living my best life until Sarah cornered me by the bathroom.

"You've got spinach in your teeth," she whispered. "Like, a LOT."

My face burned. I'd been talking to Jordan with green stuff stuck in my grill for HALF AN HOUR. The embarrassment was physical, a hot wave radiating from my chest to my ears. I'd thought I was being smooth, but I'd just been the girl with the green teeth.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?!" I hissed.

"We thought you knew," she winced. "Like, it was BAD."

I locked myself in the bathroom and stared at my reflection. A dark green wedge was wedged between my front teeth like a neon sign announcing my social suicide.

But then Jordan texted: "You disappeared :( text me?"

I emerged five minutes later, spinach-free but dignity-compromised. Jordan was waiting by the driveway.

"Hey," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I was gonna say... you're really funny. And I like your laugh."

"Even with the spinach situation?" I deadpanned.

He burst out laughing. "I didn't want to say anything! I thought you'd be embarrassed. But honestly? It was kind of cute."

"Cute? I looked like I'd been eating grass."

"Nah, you just looked like... you know, a real person. Not trying to be all fake like everyone else."

We sat on the curb and talked until my mom honked from the driveway. As I walked away, Jordan called: "Hey, maybe next time we could NOT talk with food in our teeth?"

"No promises," I shot back.

My mom eyed me as I climbed in. "How was it?"

"Perfectly awkward," I smiled, touching my teeth self-consciously. "Perfectly awkward."

Tomorrow I'd be wrangling a bull at dawn, but tonight? Tonight was absolutely worth the embarrassment.