The Spy in the Water Aisle

Marcus felt like a total creep, but he couldn't help it. He was basically a private investigator at this point—okay, a low-stakes Instagram detective. Every day after school, he'd casually refresh Maya's story, watching her life unfold in fifteen-second clips like he was some kind of digital spy gathering intel on a target he'd never actually talk to.

He adjusted his backpack, suddenly self-conscious about the vitamin C packets spilling out of the side pocket. His mom had bought them in bulk because "your immune system needs reinforcement during exam season," which was just embarrassing parent code for "I think you're getting sick because you look like death."

The worst part? She wasn't wrong. Marcus had been staying up until 3 AM scrolling through Maya's posts from three years ago, analyzing her aesthetic evolution like it was his doctoral thesis. The dark circles under his eyes had their own dark circles at this point.

"Dude, you good?" Liam asked, slapping him on the back in the cafeteria. "You look like you haven't had water in three days."

Marcus immediately grabbed his phone. "I'm hydrated. I literally have a Hydro Flask in my bag."

"Then drink from it, bro. You're out here looking dehydrated and depressed."

Marcus wanted to disappear. Instead, he fished out his water bottle and took a dramatic gulp, accidentally sloshing it onto his shirt. Perfect. Now he looked like a sad, wet sponge instead of just a sad spy.

His phone buzzed. A notification from Maya: "hey! i saw you liked my story from last week lol want to come over and watch movies? my parents got cable back📺"

Marcus froze. His heart did that thing where it forgot how to organ function properly. He typed and deleted approximately forty-seven variations of "yes" before settling on: "yeah that sounds fun! what time?"

"now if u want lol"

Marcus grabbed his vitamin stash, his water bottle, and what remained of his dignity. Maybe being a spy had its perks after all.