The Supplemental Spy

Maya's phone buzzed at 2 AM. Another notification from Jake's finsta. She'd been basically stalking his posts for three weeks — not creepy, just thorough research. Her best friend Riya called it being a "social media spy," which sounded way cooler than "girl who can't move on."

"You need to get over yourself," Riya had said earlier that day, watching Maya scroll through Jake's story for the fifth time. "Or at least eat something that isn't sadness disguised as ramen."

Maya's mom, currently in her holistic wellness era, had other ideas. The fridge looked like a vegetable graveyard. "Spinach is literally what your brain needs," she'd announced at dinner, sliding a salad toward Maya that looked like it had been prepared by someone who hated joy. "Chlorophyll is basically emotional support."

"I'm good," Maya had muttered, pushing leaves around her plate like they were radioactive.

The real problem wasn't Jake (fine, mostly). It was that Maya felt like everyone else had received some secret manual for high school that she'd missed. Her brother got straight A's without trying. Riya was varsity captain and somehow still had time to roast everyone on Twitter. Even Jake, who she'd barely spoken to since sixth grade when they'd partnered for that disastrous science project, seemed to be living his best life.

Then came the vitamin incident.

Her mom's new "wellness consultant" (a pyramid scheme situation, Riya called it) had dropped off sample packets. "These are literally magic," the consultant said with terrifying enthusiasm. "Teen empowerment formula."

Maya, desperate and maybe a little delusional, took one before school Monday. By third period, she felt... different. Not physically different, but like she'd suddenly developed the ability to say what she was thinking instead of what she thought people wanted to hear.

"Jake," she found herself saying at lunch, when he sat two tables away. "Your haircut looks good. The old one was doing you no favors."

The cafeteria went silent. Jake looked up, startled.

"Uh, thanks?"

"We should hang sometime," Maya continued, her mouth moving on its own. "Not in a weird way. Just, we both liked that science project even though it failed catastrophically."

Jake laughed. For real. "The volcano that exploded glitter everywhere? That was iconic."

They talked for twenty minutes. Maya's heart was racing but her brain was finally, finally quiet.

Later, Riya examined the vitamin packet. "These are literally sugar-free fruit snacks with some B vitamins. You placebo'd yourself into having game."

Maya grinned. "Whatever. I'm buying the family pack."

Her mom found the empty packet and beamed. "See? The spinach opened your mind, but the supplements unlocked your potential."

Maya didn't correct her. Some mysteries were better left unsolved.