When We Were Wild

The papaya sat on the counter like an alien artifact, its mottled yellow-orange skin mocking everything our suburban lives stood for. "My mom's doing this whole 'tropical wellness phase'," Maya said, wrinkling her nose. "She thinks if we eat enough weird fruit, we won't end up like—well, like regular people."

I laughed, but it came out hollow. Three weeks into freshman year, and I already felt like a zombie walking through halls that smelled like cheap body spray and existential dread. My phone buzzed—another group chat blowing up without me.

"You good?" Maya asked, leaning against the kitchen island. She was my oldest friend, the one who'd held my hair when I puked after sixth grade graduation, the one who knew exactly how many times I'd watched 'The Bear' last summer because I was too sad to do anything else.

"Just tired," I said. "Everything's different now."

She sliced into the papaya, revealing this shockingly bright orange inside filled with black seeds that looked like—honestly, I don't know what. "Try it," she said, holding out a piece. "Before we become those people who only eat pizza bags and call it 'self-care.'"

I took it. The texture was weird—soft but kind of gritty—and the taste hit me like something I couldn't name. Not bad. Just... new.

"Okay, so I'm not going to pretend this isn't weird," I said, and Maya grinned like she'd won something.

"Bear with me," she said. "Remember when we were twelve and promised we'd never be basic?" She held up another piece. "This is us not being basic. This is us being people who eat papaya and don't care that it looks like alien spawn."

I took another bite. And suddenly it hit me—that nothing was actually wrong, nothing had broken. We were just becoming different versions of ourselves, and that was supposed to happen. The zombie feeling lifted, replaced by something sharper and real.

"Okay," I said. "But if you try to make me eat durian, we're done."

Maya laughed, bright and familiar. "Deal. Now help me finish this alien fruit before my mom comes home and makes us listen to her wellness podcast."