The Papaya Incident

Maya stared at her cracked iPhone screen, thumb hovering over Leo's text. 'U up?' Two words that had given her anxiety for three straight weeks.

"You're going to bear it alone if you don't just respond already," Kira said, appearing behind her in the bathroom mirror, adjusting her crop top.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who accidentally ate a papaya in front of the whole cafeteria last week."

The Incident. That's what they called it now. Maya had never tried papaya before—her health-nut aunt had packed it in her lunch, claiming it was basically a multivitamin in fruit form. She'd taken one bite in front of Leo and his lacrosse friends, made a face like she'd swallowed a lemon, and proceeded to spit it everywhere. Leo had laughed so hard he'd snorted milk out his nose.

Since then, they'd been texting nonstop. Leo called her 'Papaya Girl' like it was the world's cutest nickname.

"He's coming to the party tonight," Kira said. "Sarah told me."

Maya's stomach did that weird swoopy thing again. She'd been taking vitamin B12 supplements because Kira said they helped with stress, but honestly she just felt gassy.

The doorbell rang.

"That's him!" Kira squealed, abandoning her hair straightener.

Maya followed her to the door, heart pounding. Leo stood there in a backwards cap, holding—

"Is that a papaya?" Maya asked.

Leo grinned, holding it like a trophy. "Figured you deserved a rematch. I looked up how to pick a ripe one and everything. My mom thinks I've lost my mind."

From behind him, his friend Jake yelled, "Dude, you're such a bull! You've been talking about Papaya Girl for WEEKS."

Leo's face flushed redder than Maya's hair. "Shut up, man."

Maya's anxiety melted into something warmer. "You've been talking about me?"

"Maybe." Leo shrugged, but his smile gave everything away. "So, you wanna try again? Together this time? I promise it's not actually that bad if it's ripe."

Maya laughed, feeling brave for the first time since the cafeteria incident. "Only if you promise to try my vitamin gummies after."

"Deal."

Some stories, Maya decided, started with embarrassment. Others ended with papayas and the possibility of something real.