The Green Smoothie Operation

I'd been watching them for three weeks. From my corner table in the library, I was basically a professional spy. My phone's camera roll told the whole story: blurred snapshots of Maya laughing at Ryan's jokes, screenshots of their late-night Instagram comments, a voice memo I'd accidentally recorded of them arguing by the lockers. Pathetic? Maybe. But when you're invisible, you notice things.

"You gonna drink that, or just keep staring at it?"

I jumped. Liam from my AP Bio class slid into the seat across from me. He pointed at my cup—the green sludge I'd blended that morning because some TikTok said it would clear your skin. Spinach, banana, and regret.

"It's...healthy," I mumbled, wishing I'd ordered something cooler. Like coffee. Or literally anything that didn't look like pond water.

"My mom makes me take these vitamin gummies every morning," Liam said, pulling a bottle from his backpack. "Tastes like fake strawberries. I think she's trying to tell me something."

We both laughed. It was weird—Liam was popular-ish, or at least popular-adjacent. We'd never spoken outside of group projects.

"So," he said, nodding toward my phone, still open to Maya's profile. "Stalking or gathering intelligence?"

My face burned. "Neither. Just...research."

"For what? Your thesis on Why Everyone Else's Life Seems Better?" He grinned. "Relax. I've been there. Last semester I spent way too many hours doomscrolling through cable TV guides from 2003, trying to find this show my brother and I used to watch. Thought if I found it, everything would feel less lonely."

Something in my chest loosened. "Did you find it?"

"Nah. But I realized I was looking backward because I didn't know how to move forward." He pushed the vitamin bottle toward me. "Want one? They're actually not terrible."

I took one. It tasted like fake strawberries and something like hope.

"You know," Liam said, standing up, "Maya and Ryan broke up yesterday. Saw Ryan crying in the parking lot after school."

I stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Google 'cable management tips,'" he said mysteriously. "That's how I found your YouTube channel. Your desk setup is sick, by the way."

I choked on my spinach smoothie. He'd noticed ME? While I was busy watching everyone else, someone had been watching me back.

"See you in Bio," Liam said, and walked away.

I deleted my spy folder. Some things were better observed from the inside anyway.