Chlorine Kisses

Maya's hair had always been her thing—the one thing people noticed before they noticed her braces or her hand-me-down clothes. She spent forty-five minutes every morning perfecting the beach waves that took zero effort (except for the forty-five minutes).

"You taking that hair vitamin still?" her mom asked, sliding a bowl across the counter. "The one that's supposed to make it grow faster?"

Maya rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. "Mom, that's not a thing. It's literally biotin. Which is in eggs. Which I eat every single day."

"Just trying to help." Her mom's voice had that I'm-your-mother-not-your-enemy tone that made Maya feel guilty even when she was right.

The real problem wasn't her hair anyway. It was Saturday, and Tyler's pool party was in three hours, and Maya had promised herself she'd actually swimming this time instead of sitting on the edge in her cover-up pretending she didn't want to get wet like last year. And the year before.

Her phone buzzed. Group chat blowing up about who was wearing what. Maya's swimsuit was still buried in the back of her drawer because she'd bought it on clearance and never actually worn it. It was navy. Practical. Safe. The opposite of whatever Chloe would show up in.

She pulled it on and caught her reflection in the full-length mirror her dad had mounted crookedly. The swimsuit fit fine. She looked fine. But something about the exposed skin, the uncurled hair hanging limp past her shoulders, the ridiculous amount of vitamin D she'd been Lectured about since she was twelve—it all felt like too much.

Her phone buzzed again. Kai in the group chat: *who's actually getting in this time or are we doing the thing where everyone sits around looking cute*

Maya typed out a lie about having to help her mom, then deleted it. Then typed it again. Deleted it.

She walked into the bathroom where her hair products lived—an entire ecosystem of gels and creams and sprays that cost more than her weekly allowance. She picked up the expensive mousse her aunt had given her, the one that promised "effortless texture." Then she set it down.

Outside, the sun hit her shoulders as she grabbed her bike. Her hair caught in the wind, tangled and messy and completely unstyled. She didn't tie it up. She didn't check her reflection in the hallway mirror.

"Have fun!" her mom called from somewhere inside.

"Yeah," Maya said, already pedaling. "I will."

The pool was loud and blue and full of people she saw every day but somehow felt like she didn't know at all. Chloe was there in a bikini that cost more than Maya's bike, surrounded by people who were laughing at something she'd said.

Kai waved from the edge. "You made it."

Maya dropped her towel. The air hit her skin. "Yeah," she said. "I'm actually getting in this time."

The shock of cold water knocked the air out of her. She came up sputtering while everyone laughed, including herself. Her hair plastered to her face, her makeup running, completely uncool. She pushed it back, caught Kai's eye, and realized she wasn't waiting for anyone to notice her anymore.

"Race you to the other side," Kai said.

"You're on," Maya said, and already was moving before she finished talking.