The Spinach Incident - Every Minute a Story

Maya's hair had always been her superpower. Thick, curly, and reaching past her shoulders, it was basically a personality of its own. But today, it felt more like a curse.

"You're going to the baseball game with us, right?" Jordan asked, leaning against her locker like he owned the school.

Maya's stomach did that annoying fluttery thing. "Obviously. I never miss a game."

"Cool. Just checking." He smiled, and Maya died inside approximately three times.

Fast forward to sixth period lunch, and Maya's life was officially over. She'd been brave enough to try the cafeteria's "farm fresh" salad—big mistake—and now she had spinach. In her teeth. In her braces. On her lip. AND she'd been smiling at Jordan for twenty minutes.

"Is that..." Chloe whispered, eyes wide. "Maya, you've had spinach in your teeth since lunch started."

The whole table went silent. Maya's face burned hot enough to melt Antarctica. She grabbed her backpack and sprinted to the bathroom, barely hearing Jordan's confused "Wait, what?" behind her.

Locked in a stall, she debated homeschooling. Maybe she could move to Antarctica. Maybe she could invent time travel. Her phone buzzed—Jordan.

hey u good?

no

wanna talk about it?

absolutely not

She stared at her reflection. Same hair, same face, same spinach-induced disaster. But then her phone buzzed again.

for what it's worth, i had spinach in my teeth last week during my presentation. nobody said anything til after. it happens.

Maya froze. Jordan, the captain of the baseball team, had walked around with green teeth for an entire presentation?

really?

lol yeah. i looked like a clueless shamrock. anyway, u coming to the game? i'll save u a seat. front row. no spinach allowed.

Maya smiled, then checked her teeth. Perfectly clean. "Deal," she texted back.

That night, Maya sat in the front row, her hair wild and beautiful, watching Jordan pitch the best game of his life. And yeah, maybe she was still embarrassed about the spinach thing. But sometimes the most embarrassing moments are the ones that show you who actually cares.

Bonus: Jordan totally looked at her like fifty times during the game. Not that she was counting.