Dead Pool Walking

The chlorine stung my eyes as I stared at the **pool** from behind my oversized bucket **hat**. Maya's graduation party raged around me—sunshine, pop music, people who actually knew how to swim without looking like a dying fish. Meanwhile, I was channeling major **zombie** energy after finals week had absolutely destroyed me.

"Leo! Get in here!" Marco yelled, doing a cannonball that splashed half the party.

I clutched my **iPhone** like a lifeline, thumbing through Instagram instead of actually, you know, living my life. 47 notifications. None from her.

"You good, bro?" Maya materialized beside me, holding out a neon-colored drink. "My mom said you need more **vitamin** D in your life. Get it? Because you're being a vampire?"

I cracked a smile. Maya always noticed when I checked out.

"Just... socially exhausted," I admitted. "Everyone's so... on."

She flopped down next to me, tucking her legs under her chin. "Bro, it's all fake. See that group over there? They've been taking the same selfie for twenty minutes. Juan's probably going to delete half of them because his jawline isn't perfect."

I laughed. It was true.

"You know," she said, "you're the only person here who's actually chill. Everyone else is performing. You're just... existing. That's kind of rare."

I looked at my phone again. 48 notifications. Still nothing from her.

Then I made a choice. I powered it off and set it on the table next to my hat.

"Race you to the deep end," I said, standing up.

Maya grinned. "You're going down, Leo."

I jumped in, hat and all, and for the first time all summer, I didn't feel like I was faking it. The water was cold, the noise was chaos, and everything was exactly okay.