The Spinach Incident

Marcus adjusted his fedora—yes, a fedora, because eighth-grade Marcus thought it made him look mysterious instead of like a lost ventriloquist act—and stared at the invitation in his hand. Pool party at Jenna's house. The Jenna. The one who sat behind him in algebra and smelled like vanilla and confidence.

"You're actually going?" Liam, his oldest friend, flopped onto the bed, already knowing the answer. "Bro, you can't even swim."

"I've been practicing," Marcus lied. "Plus, my mom says I need more social interaction. She thinks I spend too much time in my room." He didn't mention that he spent most of that time watching spy movies and imagining scenarios where he was smooth, capable, and wearing much cooler hats.

The party was already in full swing when he arrived. Kids from school everywhere—some in the pool, some clustered around snacks, some existing in that terrifying middle space where they were pretending to have somewhere better to be. Marcus felt like an undercover operative behind enemy lines, except a spy would actually know what to do with their hands.

He made his way to the food table because standing near food was a universally accepted strategy for looking like you had a purpose. His mom had packed him something earlier—she was always worried he wouldn't eat enough at parties—which he'd shoved into his pocket. The little container of spinach and cheese stuffed shells she'd made that morning.

"Marcus!" Jenna waved from across the yard. And in that moment, between the wave and his response, disaster struck. Someone bumped into him from behind, and the spinach container launched from his pocket like a sad, green projectile. It landed directly in front of Jenna's feet, the bright green filling splattering across the concrete like a culinary crime scene.

Everything went quiet. The kind of quiet that happens right before someone laughs or right before you die.

"Is that..." Jenna started, tilting her head.

"Spinach," Marcus said, his voice cracking. "My mom made it. It's actually pretty—"

But then Jenna was laughing. Not mean laughing, but real laughing, head-back, can't-breathe laughing. "Oh my god, Marcus, did you bring spinach to a pool party?" She wiped tears from her eyes. "That's actually the most random thing I've ever seen."

Something in Marcus's chest loosened. He took off the hat—finally—and shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm not really a mysterious spy guy. I'm just the guy who brings vegetables to social gatherings."

"Good," Jenna grinned. "Because spinach guy is way more interesting than spy guy. Plus, she handed him her phone, "you can help me figure out how to delete these accidentally uploaded photos. You're good with tech, right?"

Marcus smiled. "I can be."

And somewhere behind him, Liam gave him a thumbs-up.