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The pool deck was basically my natural habitat during summer, but today it felt more like a crime scene. Coach Martinez had me on lane four, aka the lane of shame, where everyone who'd choked at regionals got sent to rethink their life choices.

"Focus, Maya! Your form is getting sloppy," Coach yelled, blowing that whistle like she was trying to summon the dead.

I dove in anyway, because what choice did I have? The water was that perfect crisp blue that makes you feel alive and terrified at the same time. Swimming had always been my thing—until regionals, when I'd thoroughly embarrassed myself in front of literally everyone.

That's when I noticed him. Leo, from the varsity team, sitting on the pool's edge, messing with some ethernet cable like it was the most interesting thing in the world. He was that kind of cute where your brain just stops working properly.

"Nice dive," he said, not even looking up from the cable he was apparently trying to fix. "Almost graceful."

I almost swallowed half the pool. "Thanks. I think."

Outside, summer lightning cracked across the sky—a warning that the storm rolling in was about to wreck everyone's day. The pool crowd started scrambling for cover, but Leo stayed put, finally looking at me with this half-smile that made my stomach do something genuinely concerning.

"You're Maya, right? The one who almost made state cuts in the 100 free?"

I nodded, feeling my face heat up. "Key word: almost."

"Almost still counts." He stood up, the forgotten cable dangling from his hand. "Want to help me fix this before Coach loses her mind? It's the timing system—we're gonna need it for the makeup meet."

We spent the next twenty minutes crouched by the pool equipment box as lightning flashed closer, talking about everything and nothing. He told me he'd choked at his first big meet too, that everyone did, that it was basically a rite of passage.

"You know what's worse than failing?" he said as the first raindrops started falling. "Never trying again because you're scared."

I looked at him, really looked at him, and something inside me shifted—like electricity, but the good kind. The kind that makes you realize you're not as broken as you thought.

"Yeah," I said. "I hear you."

The rain started coming down in earnest, but neither of us moved right away. Sometimes the best moments aren't the ones where everything goes perfectly. Sometimes they're the ones where you realize you're not alone in feeling like you're constantly underwater.