The Papaya Protocol

Maya had been *spying* on Kai's Instagram for forty-five minutes when her little brother burst into her room.

"Maya! Mom says you have to try this!"

Leo waved a slice of bright orange *papaya* in her face, dripping juice onto her bedspread. Maya groaned and shoved her phone under her pillow, but not before she'd scrolled through Kai's story AGAIN. He'd posted a sunset at the beach. Without her.

"What is that?" Maya wrinkled her nose. "It looks like alien flesh."

"It's from the new market! Mom bought three of them because the cashier said they're 'exotic' or whatever." Leo plopped the fruit onto her desk. "Just try it. It's actually good."

Maya sighed, pushing her glasses up her nose. Her *hair* was already frizzy from the summer humidity, a brown halo that made her feel like a lowercase version of herself - not the main character, just the sidekick who watched from the sidelines while people like Kai lived their best lives.

"I can't," she said. "I'm busy."

"Busy stalking Kai?"

"I am NOT stalking him!" Maya's face burned. "I'm just... keeping myself informed. Like a journalist. Or a private investigator."

"You're literally refreshing his story every five minutes. I can hear you from my room." Leo rolled his eyes. "You know what your problem is?"

"My problem is that you're in my room."

"No." Leo pointed at her. "Your problem is that you're a spy without a mission. You're gathering intel but never doing anything with it."

Maya opened her mouth to argue, but closed it. Because damn it, her little brother was right. She'd been watching Kai from afar since seventh year, collecting data like some creepy FBI agent: his favorite color (blue, like the ocean), his dog's name (Barnaby), the way he scrunched his nose when he was thinking (adorably). But what had she actually DONE?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Her phone buzzed. Her heart stopped.

Kai: hey

Maya: WHAT

Kai: lol chill. I was just gonna ask if you're coming to jess's party tomorrow

Maya stared at the screen. Her thumbs hovered. Her brain short-circuited.

"YOU'RE TYPING LIKE A MANIAC," Leo observed helpfully from the doorway. "Also, that papaya is getting warm. Warm papaya is basically a crime against humanity."

"LEO"

"Just saying."

Maya took a breath. Another breath. Her fingers shook.

Maya: yeah i think so! why

Kai: idk just wondering. also i like your new profile pic

Her profile pic - the one where her hair was doing that weird flippy thing in the wind, the one she'd debated deleting approximately eight hundred times, the one that made her look like a slightly deranged bird.

He liked it.

"OH MY GOD," Maya whispered.

"TOLD you!" Leo pumped his fist. "NOW try the papaya in celebration!"

Maya looked at the fruit. Bright orange. Slightly weird. Unexpected.

She grabbed it and took a bite. Sweet, tropical, completely unfamiliar - and actually, genuinely good.

"Okay," she said, swallowing. "Fine. You win this one."

"That's what I'm here for." Leo headed toward the door. "Also, you should probably text him back before he thinks you died."

"I'm thinking!"

"Think faster. I'm not losing another sister to social media paralysis."

Maya grabbed her phone. Her fingers didn't shake this time.

Maya: thanks! your stories from the beach looked amazing btw

Kai: you should come next time. with me. like, TOGETHER

Maya dropped the papaya.

"LEO"

"WHAT"

"PAPAYA" was all she could say.

"I KNOW," he yelled back from down the hall. "THE UNIVERSE WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS."

And okay, maybe he was right about that too.