The Vitamin D-Operation

Maya's mom stood in the kitchen doorway, holding out the orange bottle like it was a peace offering.

"Your vitamin D, mija. Doctor says you're inside too much."

Maya rolled her eyes so hard it actually hurt. "Mom, I'm fifteen. My entire social life is on my phone. This is just how we exist now."

What Maya didn't say: for the past week, she'd been basically acting as a personal spy on the golden retriever that walked past her house every day at 3:45 PM. The dog belonged to Him—Lucas, the cute junior from down the block whose hair was always messy in the way that looked expensive and effortless, unlike Maya's actual messy hair that just looked like she'd forgotten a brush existed.

Maya had it down to a science. 3:43 PM: position herself behind her bedroom curtains, phone at the ready. 3:45 PM: Lucas and the dog (who she'd secretly named Professor Barksworth) would appear. 3:46 PM: she'd snap like five covert photos and then spend twenty minutes overanalyzing whether his smile had been aimed at her house or just... existence.

"You're lurking again, aren't you?" Her best friend, Kiana, said over FaceTime that night. "That's not spying, that's stalking with better lighting."

"It's reconnaissance," Maya corrected, though her face felt hot. "And besides, today was different. Professor Barksworth got off his leash and literally ran into our yard. I had to go outside and everything."

Kiana practically screamed. "AND YOU DIDN'T LEAD WITH THAT? What happened? Did you talk to him? Are you guys getting married?"

Maya laughed, tumbling backward onto her bed. "We had like a two-minute conversation about dogs and freedom. But he smiled at me. Like, actually AT me. Not at my house or the general concept of teenage girls. Me."

"That's huge! That's literally everything!"

"And get this," Maya said, sitting up suddenly. "When I bent down to grab the dog's collar, my pocket made this weird sound. Lucas asked what it was."

"Please tell me you didn't say—"

"I panicked! I said it was my vitamins rattling around. Who says that? Who even carries vitamins in their pocket?"

Kiana was losing it. "So now he thinks you're some health nut who's obsessed with dog capture? This is iconic."

But the next day, when Maya opened her locker, there was a note folded around a single orange vitamin gummy.

"For the dog whisperer - Lucas ❤️"

Kiana was right. Some things really were worth spying for.