Chlorine & Papaya Summers

Maya's mom had packed her lunch for Taylor's pool party like it was a school day. 'Be healthy, mija,' she'd said, handing Maya a Tupperware that smelled like commitment.

Now, staring at the spread of chips and pizza on the patio table, the spinach leaves in her container looked especially sad. Taylor's house was perfect—Olympic-sized pool, outdoor speakers blasting something that sounded like money, and a bunch of kids from sophomore year who already seemed to know how to be teenagers.

She spotted Jordan by the deep end, laughing at something Cody said. Jordan was on varsity baseball, had that effortless cool thing down like he'd been practicing it since birth. Maya had been crushing on him since February, when she'd watched him hit a home run during gym class baseball and then helped pick up the equipment without even being asked.

'Want some?' Taylor appeared beside her, holding out a bowl of chunky orange fruit. 'My dad went to that exotic market again. It's papaya.'

Maya took a piece. It was sweet and weird, like nothing she'd tasted before. 'Thanks.'

'That spinach salad looks intense,' Taylor said. 'You, like, super healthy or something?'

'My mom,' Maya said, then immediately wanted to die. Why did she always sound so lame when she tried to explain herself?

'That's cool though.' Taylor didn't sound like she was making fun of her. 'Hey, Jordan's been looking at you all day. Just so you know.'

Maya's stomach did something complicated. 'No way.'

'Way.' Taylor grinned. 'He's over by the pool table. You should go talk to him. The pool area, I mean. Not the actual table. Though there is one inside.'

Before Maya could overthink it, Jordan was walking over, dripping wet from a cannonball off the diving board. 'Hey,' he said to Maya. 'You gonna swim or what?'

Something in her chest loosened. She kicked off her flip-flops. 'Yeah. Yeah, I am.'

She jumped in, chlorinated water swallowing her whole, and for the first time all day, she stopped worrying about whether she was doing it right. The papaya aftertaste still lingered in her mouth, sweet and strange, like the beginning of something.