The Green Smoothie Incident

Maya stared at the blender like it had personally offended her. The ingredients stared back: a mound of raw spinach that looked like it could choke a grown man, a banana that had seen better days, and her little brother's leftover protein powder.

"You gotta drink it, Maya," her best friend Jace urged from where he lounged on her bed, phone in hand. "It's basically a health reset. My cousin's personal trainer swears by this."

"Your cousin once tried to convince us that putting ice in cereal was a life hack," Maya deadpanned. She pressed the blend button and the machine made a noise like a dying lawnmower. The resulting sludge was the color of pond water and about as appealing.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Boots—their family's ancient golden retriever—started barking like maniac at absolutely nothing from the backyard. Then came the sound of glass shattering.

"No way," Maya groaned, already moving toward the back door. "Boots, what did you DO?"

The dog stood on the patio next to her mom's prized herb garden, dirt everywhere and what looked like half a tomato plant clamped proudly in his jaws. And then—he took off.

Maya didn't think. She just started running, chasing him through the neighbor's yard (sorry Mrs. Patterson), past the skate park where those seniors from school definitely saw her, down the street with her hair everywhere and her dignity somewhere behind her. She'd never been athletic, but sheer humiliation fueled her like nothing else.

She finally cornered Boots two blocks away, where he'd gotten distracted by someone's grilled cheese sandwich. Breathless and sweating, she clipped the leash to his collar and marched him home, glaring at anyone who dared make eye contact.

By the time she got back, Jace was laughing so hard he'd fallen off her bed.

"You're never living this down," he wheezed.

Maya grabbed the smoothie, chugged it in three gulps without tasting anything, and slammed the empty cup down. "It was actually fine," she lied, spinach stuck in her teeth. "Totally worth it."

Her phone buzzed. A message from Tyler, the cute senior who'd definitely been at the skate park: *Nice chase. You've got form.*

Maya smiled despite herself. Sometimes the worst moments turned out okay. Even with spinach in your teeth.