The Vitamin D Files

Maya's thumb hovered over Leo's Instagram story — another sunset pic without her. They used to do everything together: boba runs, homework marathions, endless TikTok scrolling. But lately? Crickets.

"He's definitely hiding something," Maya whispered, zooming in on the background. There, on his desk — a bright orange bottle. Vitamin D supplements? Since when did Leo take vitamins?

The next week got weirder. Leo cancelled their study sesh twice, claiming "family stuff." But Sarah from chem said she'd seen him at the community center every afternoon. Every. Single. Day.

Maya went full detective mode. She created a finsta just to follow his close friends, started taking the long way to class to "accidentally" bump into him, even considered asking his little sister for intel. She felt pathetic, basically low-key stalking her supposed best friend. But the unknown was eating her alive.

Friday, she spotted him leaving the center with some older guy — tall, athletic, totally not related. Maya's stomach did that awful thing where it drops to your knees. Was he... was he replacing her?

She confronted him Monday morning, caffeine-and-anxiety fueled. "So, who's the dude? And don't say it's your uncle, because I've literally met your entire extended family."

Leo blinked, confused. Then his face lit up. "Oh! Coach Williams? He's training me for track. I'm trying to make varsity."

"Track?" Maya repeated. "Since when do you run?"

"Since I realized I couldn't join the team last year because I was always sick," Leo said, pulling the orange bottle from his backpack. "Doctor said my vitamin D was trash. I've been taking these supplements and training, and I made it, Maya! First meet's Saturday."

Maya stood there, feeling like the world's biggest idiot. "Wait... you thought I'd care about that? I literally ran track in middle school."

"I know!" Leo grinned. "I was gonna tell you, I swear. I wanted to surprise you when I made the team. Plus, I didn't want to jinx it."

Maya fake-gagged. "You're the worst. But also... I'm proud of you, loser."

"Be there Saturday?"

"Obviously," she said, pulling him into a hug. "Someone's gotta document your inevitable faceplant."

"Love you too, best friend."

Later, Maya deleted her finsta. Some secrets were worth waiting for.