Three Truths and a Lie

Maya pressed her back against the gym wall, heart hammering like she'd just finished a 5K. The annual Fall Fling dance was two weeks away, and she was on a mission.

"You're literally going to spy on him?" Jess asked, adjusting her glasses. "That's giving major stalker vibes."

"I'm not spying," Maya lied, watching Jason laugh with his friends across the cafeteria. "I'm conducting casual research. There's a difference."

There wasn't.

The problem started yesterday at lunch when Jason—who Maya had been lowkey obsessed with since seventh grade—sat at her table. For twenty glorious minutes, they'd talked about everything from Mr. Harrison's terrible dad jokes to their shared hatred of kale smoothies. Maya had floated through the rest of the day feeling like she was walking on clouds.

Then came the rumor mill.

According to Chloe, who heard it from Tyler, who heard it from someone else, Jason had called Maya "cool but boring" in the locker room. And apparently, he'd made some bet about getting her to do something dumb.

"That's such bull," Jess said when Maya told her. "Jason's not like that."

"But what if he is?" Maya's voice cracked. "What if I've been romanticizing him this whole time and he's actually just another dudebro trying to win some stupid game?"

Her phone buzzed. A text from Jason: *Hey, want to hang at the park tomorrow?*

Maya stared at it, feeling like a zombie going through the motions of her life. Every interaction felt fake now. Was he interested? Was he playing her? Was she overthinking everything because that's what she did best?

"Just ask him," Jess said.

"I can't. That's terrifying."

"Then go full spy mode," Jess suggested. "Figure out if he's actually trash or if Chloe is just stirring drama because she's bitter Jason turned her down last year."

So here Maya was, casually lurking near the basketball courts where Jason practiced, trying to look like she wasn't lurking at all. She was failing spectacularly.

"You're so bad at this," a voice said behind her.

Maya jumped. Jason stood there, gym bag slung over his shoulder, sweat-dampened hair falling in his eyes. He was devastatingly cute, which was honestly annoying.

"I wasn't—"

"Spying?" He grinned. "Because you've been standing there for ten minutes pretending to be extremely interested in that tree."

Heat flooded her cheeks. "Okay, wow, this is embarrassing."

"It's kind of flattering, though?" Jason stepped closer. "Unless you're planning to murder me. Then it's less flattering."

Maya laughed despite herself. "No murder. Just... curiosity. Someone said you made a bet about me."

Jason's face fell. "Chloe?"

"Maybe."

"Dude, Chloe's still mad I rejected her at homecoming last year. She's been spreading rumors forever." He looked at Maya, suddenly serious. "I didn't make any bet. I just think you're cool. Like, genuinely cool. You're smart and funny and you actually care about stuff." He paused. "I was going to ask you to the dance tomorrow. At the park."

Maya's stomach did something weird and fluttery. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Jason smiled, and it was this soft, genuine thing that made Maya's chest ache. "So? Should I be worried about the spying thing, or...?"

"No spying," Maya said. "Just... maybe next time, don't wait two weeks to ask me to a dance?"

"Deal." He started walking away, then turned back. "Hey, Maya?"

"Yeah?"

"You're definitely not boring."

As Maya walked home, the zombie feeling lifted, replaced by something light and hopeful. Sometimes the rumors were bull, the spying wasn't really spying, and the guy you thought was out of your league was actually just waiting for you to show up.

Okay, that was super cheesy. But sometimes cheesy was exactly what you needed.