Chlorine and Courage

The humidity hit Maya like a wall the second she stepped through the gates of the community pool. Behind her, Nina was already hyping her up like they were walking into a war zone instead of a Saturday afternoon hang.

"You got this," Nina said, adjusting her sunglasses. "Just act normal. Normal people don't have panic attacks at pool parties."

Easy for her to say. Nina could talk to anyone. Maya's palms were already sweating, and she hadn't even spotted him yet.

There he was. Caleb. Leaning against the concession stand like he owned the place, holding a Vitamin Water like some kind of spokesperson. He'd grown at least three inches over the summer, and now he had that lanky, adorable awkwardness that made Maya's stomach do backflips.

"Oh my god, he's looking over here," Nina whispered, dramatically fanning herself. "Don't make eye contact. Or do. I don't know. What's the play?"

Maya's brain short-circuited. She'd spent three weeks crafting the perfect casual encounter in her head, and now she was freezing up like a malfunctioning computer.

Suddenly, a golden retriever puppy came bounding out of nowhere, nearly colliding with Maya's legs. A girl in a floral bikini came chasing after it.

"Buster! Oh my god, I'm so sorry," the girl said, grabbing the dog's collar. "He's not usually this—"

"It's fine," Maya managed, even though her heart was pounding for approximately seventeen reasons now.

"That's such a cute dog," Nina jumped in, because she was secretly a genius. "What's his name?"

"Buster. He's my aunt's. I'm watching him for the week." The girl smiled, and then she was looking at Maya. "I'm Chloe, by the way."

"Maya. This is Nina."

"Cool. Nice to meet you guys." Chloe looked past them. "You here with anyone?"

Before Maya could answer, Caleb appeared beside them, holding out another Vitamin Water to Chloe.

"Hey, you guys met Chloe?" His eyes found Maya, and she actually forgot how to speak for a solid two seconds. "She transferred here last week."

Chloe. His cousin? His friend? Maya's overthinking brain spiraled into catastrophe mode.

"She just moved from Texas," Caleb continued, totally oblivious to Maya's internal meltdown. "Her dad's in the military, so they move around a lot. Pretty bull, right?"

Maya blinked. "Pretty... bull?"

"You know. Like, messed up situation." Caleb frowned. "That's not how people say it anymore, is it."

Nina let out the most undignified snort. "Caleb, nobody has said 'that's bull' since 2016."

"Oh my god." Caleb covered his face with one hand. "Please forget I exist."

Maya laughed, and for the first time all day, her palms weren't sweating anymore. "Too late. That's officially happening."

"Great. Perfect." Caleb dropped his hand, grinning now. "So, you gonna come in the pool or what?"

And just like that, the disaster she'd been anticipating didn't happen. She didn't say anything embarrassing. She didn't trip. She just said, "Yeah," and followed him toward the water, Nina and Chloe and Buster the dog trailing behind them.

Sometimes the worst things that could happen weren't that bad after all. Sometimes the scariest part was just showing up.