The Spinach Incident

Maya pressed her phone against her chest like it contained state secrets. In a way, it did. She'd been officially "spying" on Jake's Instagram for three months now—not in a creepy way, just... thorough research. The way someone might study for a final they really needed to pass.

"You're doing it again," said Priya, sliding into the cafeteria booth opposite her. "The spy face. You look like you're decoding nuclear launch codes, but I know you're just checking if Jake posted any new beach pics."

Maya's face burned. "I'm not spying. I'm... gathering intel. There's a difference."

"Uh-huh." Priya smirked. "Your friend is telling you that this is getting weird. Just talk to him already."

Easy for Priya to say. She was gorgeous and confident and had never once had to worry about having food in her teeth during a conversation with a crush.

Speaking of food...

Maya took a massive bite of her spinach and feta wrap. It was actually pretty good, if you ignored the fact that spinach was basically nature's way of ensuring vegetables could ruin your life. She was mid-chew when Jake himself walked past their booth.

He stopped.

"Hey, Maya!" Jake smiled, and her stomach did something genuinely concerning. "My mom said you're good at chemistry? I'm kinda failing, and I was wondering if you'd maybe want to study together sometime?"

Maya tried to say "yes, absolutely, that would be amazing."

What came out was: "Yesh! Absblee!"

Because she still had a massive piece of spinach wedged between her front teeth.

Jake's expression didn't change, but the corner of his mouth twitched. Like, really noticeably. "Cool. I'll text you."

He walked away. Maya died inside.

Priya was losing her mind. She wasn't even making noise, just vibrating with suppressed laughter, tears streaming down her face. "The spinach," she wheezed. "It was right there. His face—"

"I'm never recovering from this," Maya groaned, covering her face. "He's going to tell everyone. I'll be known as Spinach Girl for the rest of high school."

"Maybe." Priya finally composed herself, then grabbed Maya's hand. "Or maybe he thought it was kinda cute that you were so excited you couldn't even swallow first. And for the record? Any guy who can't handle a little spinach between friends isn't worth your time anyway."

Maya's phone buzzed.

Jake: 📱 Chemistry room, Thursday? And don't worry about the spinach. I once walked around with ketchup on my chin for an entire afternoon.

Maya looked at Priya. "I think I might survive."

"Spying on his Instagram tomorrow too?"

"...research never hurts."