Bear Hug at Midnight

The pool behind Tyler's house glowed with underwater LED lights, turning the water an electric blue that matched the streaks in Chloe's hair. Maya stood at the edge, clutching her towel like a security blanket, heart hammering against her ribs.

"You coming in or what?" Tyler called from the water, droplets streaming down his ridiculously toned chest. The rest of the friend group was already swimming—laughter echoing off the privacy fence, splash fights, someone blasting Drake from a waterproof speaker.

Maya had spent forty-five minutes in her room earlier, trying on three different swimsuits. She'd finally settled on the black one-piece with the high-cut legs, but now she felt ridiculous. Everyone else looked so effortless, so comfortable in their skin. Meanwhile, she was busy analyzing every perceived flaw—her thighs, the small roll when she sat, the fact that she'd never quite mastered the art of looking chill while doing literally anything.

"I'm good," Maya said, voice tight. "Just enjoying the vibe from here."

Chloe popped up from underwater, hair slicked back like a selkie. "Girl, it's literally ninety degrees. Get in here before you melt."

Something in Maya's chest tightened. This was exactly why she'd spent the first month of sophomore year eating lunch in the library, successfully avoiding exactly these situations—situations where she'd have to bare herself, literally and figuratively, to people she barely knew.

Then she saw it: draped over a lounge chair like it owned the place, a giant inflatable bear pool float. Someone had drawn sharpied eyebrows on it and given it sunglasses. It was absurd and ridiculous and suddenly Maya was laughing, actually laughing, for the first time all night.

"Is that... is that a bear?" Maya pointed.

"Benedict," Tyler said solemnly. "He's the mascot. Also, he's extremely buoyant if you need support."

And just like that, something in Maya unlocked. Maybe it was the absurdity of a sunglasses-wearing inflatable bear named Benedict. Maybe it was Tyler not making it weird that she hadn't gotten in yet. Maybe she was just tired of standing on the edge of her own life, watching everyone else swim.

She dropped her towel on the lounge chair next to Benedict and slid into the water. It felt like coming home.

"Finally," Chloe said, but she was smiling. "We were about to send a search party."

Maya ducked underwater, letting the cool silence wash over her for a moment. When she surfaced, shaking water from her hair, Tyler was right there, grinning.

"See? Nothing to it."

"Yeah," Maya said, treading water beside the giant bear. "Yeah. Actually okay."

By midnight, they'd formed a weird human chain with Benedict the bear at the center, someone's phone capturing the moment—Maya, finally in the pool, finally part of something, finally learning how to float.