The Vitamin G Truth

The rumor spread faster than a TikTok trend goes viral: Jordan was talking smack about me behind my back. The exact kind of petty drama I'd sworn to avoid sophomore year, yet here I was, staring at my phone in second period, heart doing that weird fluttery thing that feels less like butterflies and more like panic.

"You good?" asked Riley, sliding into the desk beside me. Riley was the kind of friend who actually noticed stuff.

"Jordan's being...," I started, then stopped myself. I was NOT about to say the word that rhymes with 'witchy' and starts with a B.

"Spreading total bull?" Riley finished for me.

I nodded. "Apparently I'm 'try-hard' and 'fake.' Whatever that means."

After school, I sat on my front porch with Mochi, my grandma's ancient orange tabby cat who acted more like a grumpy roommate than a pet. Mochi's fur was the color of a creamsicle that'd been left in the sun too long, and she had this habit of judging my life choices with unblinking yellow eyes.

My grandma came outside with a glass bottle. "Vitamin G," she announced, handing it to me.

"There's no Vitamin G, Grandma."

"G for gossip," she said, deadpan. "Or courage. Whatever you need." It was just orange juice with a splash of something that tasted like sunshine, but I drank it anyway because that's what you do when your grandma is secretly a genius.

That night, I finally texted Jordan: 'Heard you said stuff. If you've got a problem with me, say it to my face.'

Jordan replied five minutes later: 'I didn't say that. Someone told me YOU were talking about ME.'

And just like that, we both realized we'd been played. Some random sophomore had manufactured drama for entertainment, and we'd both fallen for it. Jordan came over, we ordered an actual orange pizza (don't knock it till you try it), and Mochi deigned to let us pet her for exactly seven minutes before her royalty demanded space.

Sometimes the hardest part of growing up isn't the drama itself—it's learning that the people you trust might not be your enemies after all. And that sometimes, the best medicine really is just sitting on a porch with a friend, a judgmental cat, and whatever Vitamin G happens to be.