Vitamin Friend

My life was basically a supplement. Something added to make the main thing better. The main thing being Chloe, my older sister—the fitness influencer with 2.3 million followers and a green smoothie empire. And me? I was the vitamin in the Chloe smoothie. Totally unnecessary, but there for ~aesthetic~.

I flopped onto my bed, doomscrolling through Maya's stories from spring break—the beach trip I'd skipped by claiming I had mono. Because honestly, spring break with the popular crowd sounded like actual torture. My phone buzzed.

Kai: "Dude. Maya's at your door. Right now. She's asking why you're not at Taylor's party."

I stared at the ceiling. I wasn't invited. I'd pretended I was because eighth grade was ending, high school was looming, and somehow I was still pretending to be someone who got invited to Taylor Chen's parties.

I started typing: "Family thing. My sister has this huge brand launch—" Then deleted it. The truth was pathetic. I was at home, probably about to make myself spinach pancakes because Chloe had sent home her latest recipe prototype and I was apparently her personal guinea pig now.

The front door opened. Chloe's voice carried up the stairs. "Lia! I brought you those vitamin gummies! The ones with collagen and biotin!"

I buried my face in my pillow. She meant well. She always meant well. But sometimes having a perfect influencer sister felt like living in someone else's carefully curated feed, and I was just the messy background detail they forgot to edit out.

My phone buzzed. Kai: "What do I tell her?"

Kai had been my friend since fourth grade, back when I was the weird kid who ate spinach leaves at recess because my dad had gone through his 'everything organic' phase. He knew everything. Including the fact that I was not, and had never been, the kind of person who got invited to Taylor Chen's parties.

But lately something had shifted. Everyone reshuffling into new social configurations like we were all being dealt into different card games, and I'd been left holding a handful of spinach while everyone else got actual cards.

I typed: "Tell her the truth, I guess?"

My finger hovered over send. Then deleted it and typed: "Actually, tell her I'm with you. Your house. Now."

Kai: "Deal. My mom made those cookies you like."

I grabbed my hoodie. Through the window, I could see Maya's car parked down the street. Taylor's party was probably lit. Probably fun. Probably full of people whose lives were main courses, not supplements.

But Kai's mom's cookies were actual fire. And Kai was Kai—had been Kai through the organic phase, through the Chloe influencer phase, through whatever phase I moved into next. Some things weren't supplements. Some things were just the main dish, always had been.

I grabbed my keys. The spinach pancakes could wait.