The Vitamin Water Incident

Maya's first day at Northwood High, she spotted the palm tree in the courtyard—twisted and perfect for hiding behind. Which was exactly what she needed, because she'd accidentally become a spy.

"You're literally stalking them," Jordan whispered, sliding behind the tree with her. Jordan had the kind of effortless cool that made it look like she'd never had an awkward phase.

"I'm not stalking," Maya protested. "I'm... conducting research."

"Research on what? How Chloe manages to look like she just walked off a Pinterest board 24/7?"

Well, yes. But also: how Chloe somehow always had those vitamin water bottles that weren't even sold in their town. It was suspicious.

The Popular Table was doing their thing—laughing, hair flipping, existing in that rarefied air that made everyone else feel like they were breathing different oxygen. Chloe's cat ears headband (a basic thing, really, but she made it look high fashion) bobbed as she laughed at something Tyler said.

Wait. Cat ears headband. Vitamin water. Something wasn't adding up.

Maya's home situation wasn't exactly Pinterest-worthy. Her mom had gone through a wellness phase, which meant their fridge looked like a vitamin pharmacy. Maya had been smuggle-reading texts on her phone under the dinner table while her dad ranted about how vitamin supplements were a conspiracy.

"I'm going in," Maya said suddenly.

"What? No, you're literally not—"

But Maya was already walking. Not to Chloe. To the empty table next to them. She pulled out her phone, took a fake call. "Yeah, the cat's been throwing up again. I think it was those vitamins Mom bought. The ones with the weird ingredients."

She saw it—Chloe's head snapped up. Their eyes met.

"Your cat?" Chloe asked, abandoning her table.

"Yeah. My mom's all into this wellness thing."

"Oh my god, same. My mom made me take these—" Chloe pulled out her phone, showed a screenshot of vitamin bottles. "My cat got into them and started acting so weird. I've been sneaking him actual treats instead."

They looked at each other. Behind her, Maya saw Jordan facepalm behind the palm tree.

"Wait," Chloe said. "You've been hiding behind that tree every day?"

"Maybe."

Chloe laughed, and it wasn't her practiced Instagram laugh. "I thought you were judging my outfits."

"I was admiring them, actually."

"Sit with us," Chloe said. "Unless you have another fake call to make."

Maya sat. The table wasn't as rarefied as she'd thought. The vitamin water was grocery store brand with the labels peeled off. The cat ears were because Chloe's cat scratched her actual headphones.

She caught Jordan's eye across the courtyard. Jordan gave her a thumbs-up.

Some spies, Maya decided, didn't need to hide behind palm trees. Sometimes the real mission was finding people who were also pretending to have it together.