The Hat, The Spy, The Vitamin D Deficiency

Maya's black beanie was basically fused to her skull at this point. It was her shield, her vibe, her entire personality. Without it, she felt raw. Exposed. Like a lobster without its shell, which was ironic because she was literally vitamin D deficient from spending all her time avoiding direct sunlight.

"You good, bestie?" Chloe asked, sliding into the cafeteria seat beside her. "You've been staring at Tyler's table for twenty minutes."

"I'm not staring," Maya lied, immediately glancing away from where Tyler sat with his varsity jacket and that perfect hair that probably violated several laws of physics. "I'm conducting research."

"Research?"

"I'm basically a spy," Maya whispered, despite the fact that no one within a fifty-foot radius cared about their conversation. "I observe. I analyze. I remain undetected. It's called survival."

Chloe snorted. "You sit three tables away and make awkward eye contact sometimes. That's not espionage, that's just middle school trauma carrying over."

Maya pulled her hat down lower. Whatever. Chloe didn't understand the complexity of teenage social dynamics. Maya had mastered the art of being everywhere and nowhere at once. She knew Tyler's schedule by heart. She knew he liked vanilla coffee drinks. She knew he'd had a braces emergency in seventh grade. That was valuable intelligence.

"Aren't you supposed to be taking your vitamins or something?" Chloe asked, pointing to Maya's backpack where a bright orange bottle stuck out.

"They're for my immune system," Maya said defensively. "Cold and flu season is literally always."

"Right. Because that's why you bought the gummy ones shaped like dinosaurs."

"THEY TASTE BETTER."

The conversation was interrupted when Tyler himself walked past their table, and Maya's spy training immediately failed her. She froze. Did she look busy? Cool? Like someone who had definitely not spent the past month memorizing his lunch period?

"Nice hat," Tyler said, pausing.

Maya's brain short-circuited. "Thanks. It's a... hat."

Smooth. Truly the work of a master operative.

"I like how you always wear it," he continued, like he was complimenting something intentional and meaningful instead of what was basically a security blanket. "It's your thing. Like, everyone knows that's Maya's hat."

He kept walking, and Maya sat there processing what had just happened.

"Did that just happen?" she whispered.

"I think you were just made," Chloe said. "Your cover is blown, Agent Vitamin D."

Maya touched her hat, feeling weirdly proud and terrified at the same time. Maybe being seen wasn't the worst thing in the world. Maybe she could be Maya-with-the-hat instead of spy-in-the-hat. Either way, she was absolutely taking like five dinosaur gummies when she got home. She deserved it.