The Vitamin K Project

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, popping another Vitamin D supplement like my life depended on it. Mom said it would help with energy, but honestly, the only thing draining me was sophomore year itself. I was basically operating on autopilot—what my friend Zara calls zombie mode. Not the cool, fictional kind that eats brains. The suburban kind that eats cafeteria pizza and forgets to do homework.

"You coming to Maya's party tonight?" Zara texted. I stared at my phone, thumbs hovering.

Parties weren't really my thing. Last time, I'd spent forty-five minutes petting the host's cat in the laundry room while everyone else played beer pong. But this was different. Maya had finally invited me, and Zara swore there would be actual food I could eat.

"What's on the menu?" I typed back.

"Maya's mom is making this insane fruit salad. Papaya, mango, pineapple..."

Papaya. I'd never tried it. It seemed like the kind of thing confident people ate—people who didn't overthink everything, who didn't need vitamin supplements just to face the school day.

"I'm in," I wrote.

Hours later, I stood in Maya's kitchen, staring at a bowl of cubed papaya like it was some kind of alien artifact. Around me, people laughed and danced. The cat from last time—weaved through my legs, purring.

"Try it," Zara said, sliding a piece onto a napkin. "Unless you're scared."

I wasn't scared. I was just... me. Always overthinking, always watching from the sidelines. But maybe that could change.

I put the papaya in my mouth. Sweet, slightly musky, completely unfamiliar.

"Well?" Maya asked, grinning.

"It's actually pretty good," I said, and for the first time all year, I didn't feel like a zombie anymore. I felt like someone who tried new things. Someone who showed up.

The cat rubbed against my ankle as I reached for another piece. Vitamin D could wait. I was getting my energy from somewhere else now.