The Supplement Squad

Maya stared at the fluorescent orange bottle in her hand. GUMMY VITAMIN D — the label screamed in all caps like it was trying too hard to be cool. Just like her. Just like this entire lunch period where she sat sandwiched between Jessica's ongoing monologue about her college application essay and Jordan's unusually quiet poking at his cafeteria pizza.

"I'm just saying," Jessica continued, literally not stopping, "if I write about my mission trip, does it seem too performative? Like, is helping people a flex now?" She flipped her perfectly straightened hair. Maya caught Jordan's eye. He was definitely laughing at something on his phone. Probably a meme. Probably funnier than this conversation.

"You could write about your dog," Maya suggested, mostly because she needed Jessica to stop talking for like, three seconds. "That thing with the obedience school last year was kind of iconic ngl."

Jessica paused. "Wait, that's actually kind of brilliant. Who else has a emotional support animal story that's ALSO about overcoming obstacles?" She started typing furiously in her notes app. Maya felt weirdly proud, like she'd accomplished something major by existing.

Jordan slid his phone across the table. A video played of some guy trying to teach a golden retriever to howl on command and failing dramatically. The dog just stared at him like he was absolutely pathetic, which, fair. Maya cracked up. Jordan finally smiled for the first time all day.

"That's gonna be you," he said, nodding at the vitamin bottle still in her hand. "You and your little gummy obsession. You're gonna be the weird lady with forty dogs and a pantry full of supplements."

"First of all," Maya said, popping two gummies into her mouth like they were candy, which they basically were, "it's not an obsession. It's called self-care. Second, if I have forty dogs, you're officially invited over every weekend because you're obviously my favorite person right now."

"Wow," Jordan deadpanned. "The pressure. I'm honored."

Jessica looked up from her phone. "Wait, what did I miss? Are we hanging out this weekend? Because my parents are finally letting me get my license back and I literally need to escape before they change their minds."

Maya looked at Jordan. Jordan looked at Maya. Jessica waited, completely unaware she'd almost missed it. The friendship thing. The real kind, not just the default proximity of assigned lunch seats.

"Yeah," Maya said. "We're hanging out. All of us. And we're bringing the vibe." She held up the vitamin bottle. "The d-vibe, specifically."

Jordan groaned. "That was terrible. You're cancelled."

"You love me," she said, and she wasn't even asking. Because for the first time in forever, she actually knew.