The Spinach Smile Incident

Marcus's reflection in the bathroom mirror showed exactly what he'd feared: bright green **spinach** wedged between his front teeth. Perfect. Just perfect.

Maya, the girl he'd been crushing on since sophomore year, was waiting at the baseball field. Well, technically she was waiting for her boyfriend, Tyler—the star pitcher who'd already accidentally hit Marcus with a fastball during gym class twice. But tonight was different. Marcus had something Tyler didn't.

He pulled out his phone to check on his little sister's **goldfish**, Barnaby, who'd been looking sluggish all week. "Please don't die before I get back," he whispered, rinsing his mouth for the third time. His mom's new health kick meant they had spinach with every meal lately, and he was pretty sure she was trying to turn them all into human versions of their golden retriever, Buster, who would eat literally anything.

Speaking of—Buster was currently whining at the back door. Marcus had promised to walk him before heading to the game, but time was running out. "Fine, five minutes," he said, grabbing the leash.

Buster bolted down the sidewalk like he was training for the **baseball** team instead of just being an overenthusiative pet. Halfway through the walk, Marcus's phone buzzed. A text from his little sister: BARNABY IS SWIMMING UPSIDE DOWN. IS HE DEAD???

Marcus stood frozen in the middle of the sidewalk while Buster enthusiastically greeted Mrs. Henderson's poodle. His sister was crying. The game started in twenty minutes. Maya would be there. But Barnaby... that goldfish had been through everything with their family. Dad's deployment. Mom's divorce. The move to a new state last year.

"You know what?" Marcus said aloud. He turned around, marched back home, and spent the next hour doing research, teaching his sister how to change the tank water properly, and surprisingly, Barnaby started swimming right-side up again.

He missed the game. He missed seeing Maya. But when he finally checked his phone, there was a notification: Maya Rodriguez had posted a photo of Barnaby on her story with the caption, "This kid saved my little brother's goldfish today. Real ones exist."

The spinach smile was gone. Marcus found himself actually smiling as he typed a reply. Sometimes the winning play wasn't the one you expected to make.