The Spinach Incident

Maya stood by the bathroom mirror, adjusting the beanie for the tenth time. Her **hair** was doing that thing again—half frizzy, half flat, like it couldn't decide who it wanted to be. Kind of like her, honestly.

"You coming out or what?" Jordan called through the door. "Everyone's asking about you."

"Coming," Maya lied. She wasn't ready. This was her first real party since transferring to Northwood, and her social battery was already at 1%.

Outside, **lightning** cracked across the sky, illuminating the crowded basement through the narrow window. Perfect. A storm to match her internal monologue.

She finally emerged, clutching a solo cup like it was a life raft. Someone shoved a plate of apps at her—fancy spinach-artichoke dip that looked way too bougie for a high school party. She took a bite, mostly to have something to do with her hands.

Then she saw him. Caleb. The guy she'd been lowkey stalking on Instagram since August. He was laughing with his friends, that easy confidence that some people just had.

"Hey!" A girl named Riley appeared beside her. "You're Maya, right? From English?"

"Yeah, hi!" Maya said, maybe too enthusiastically. Spinach dip everywhere. She could feel it—like, literally feel something stuck in her teeth.

Panic mode activated. She rushed back to the bathroom, eyes wide. GREEN. EVERYWHERE. A chunk of **spinach** the size of a small planet was wedged between her front teeth, and there was also some smeared across her chin like some kind of avant-garde statement piece.

She scrubbed it off, hands shaking. This was it. Her social life was over before it began. She'd be known as Spinach Girl forever. They'd make memes.

"Need some help?" It was Caleb. In the bathroom. Because apparently the universe hated her.

Maya's face burned. "I'm good. Just... dying of embarrassment. No big."

He laughed, not mean-like. Real laughed. "Last week? I walked around with chocolate on my forehead for three hours. Three. Hours. Nobody told me until I got home."

"Seriously?"

"Dead ass." He leaned against the doorframe. "You good now?"

Maya looked in the mirror. **Hat** slightly crooked, hair still a mess, but somehow... she was okay with that.

"Yeah," she said, and actually meant it. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Cool." He smiled. "Come join us. We're playing Mario Kart and I need someone to destroy at Rainbow Road."

Outside, the storm raged on. But inside, Maya finally felt like she might actually belong.