Beneath the Chlorored Sky

My palms were sweating so bad I could practically water-ski on them. Standing at the edge of Carter's infinity pool, watching everyone else bob around like they'd been born in the water, while I stood there clutching my towel like a lifeline.

"You coming in or what?" Carter called from the middle. He was effortlessly treading water, that stupid smile on his face that made half the sophomore class swoon. Including me, though I'd never admit it.

"Yeah, just gotta... find my goggles," I lied. My goggles were somewhere in my bag, buried under layers of embarrassment.

Then his dog, Max—a golden retriever with more confidence than I'd ever have—came bounding out of nowhere and launched himself straight into the pool. A perfect, graceful cannonball. Not even hesitating.

If a dog could do it, why couldn't I?

I was still psyching myself up when Maya, Carter's sister, appeared beside me. She was wearing this oversized bucket hat that swallowed half her face, somehow making her look impossibly cool.

"You're overthinking it," she said, not looking at me. "Just jump. The water's fine once you're in. Staying out here? That's the hard part."

She adjusted her hat, then cannonballed in too, emerging seconds later with a whoop.

I took a breath. And another. Thought about how much I hated being the new girl, the one always watching from the edges. Thought about how exhausted I was from swimming through conversations like I was constantly underwater anyway.

So I jumped.

The shock of cold. The instant plunge. Then surfacing, sputtering, heart pounding but alive. Carter swam over, grinning. "About time."

"Whatever," I said, but I was smiling too.

Maya drifted past, still wearing her ridiculous hat. "See? Easy."

Max paddled by with a tennis ball, looking smug.

And for the first time since moving here three months ago, the exhausting performance of trying to fit in faded into something real. Just chlorine and sunlight and the feeling of finally, finally being in the pool instead of standing at the edge watching everyone else swim.