Diving In

Maya pulled her bucket **hat** down until the brim touched her eyebrows. A shield. That's what it was—armor against the blinding afternoon sun and the judgment of twenty sophomore girls she barely knew.

Pool parties. The worst invention ever.

Her **iPhone** buzzed in her pocket—SOS from Chloe. *Get me out of here, this is so awk.* Maya typed back one-handed, *You're literally winning Marco Polo.*

The **water** sparkled like someone had dumped diamonds in it, and okay, maybe it looked inviting. But jumping in meant noticing things. Like the way Harper's highlighter game was flawless, or how Jordan already had a boyfriend who looked like a boutique经营 model, or the fact that Maya was still wearing her middle school bikini because shopping for swimsuits with her mom was basically a psychological horror movie.

"Maya! You **swimming** or what?" Harper called. Her voice was warm, which was somehow worse than if she'd been mean.

"Just chilling," Maya mumbled, clutching her phone like it contained the meaning of life.

An **orange** rolled across the patio—probably from the fruit tray nobody was touching. It stopped near her flip-flops. A metaphor? She'd been reading way too much English literature.

"You good over there?" Jordan appeared, dripping wet, tanned, perfect. "You seem... present but also not here."

Maya's stomach did that thing where it twisted into approximately forty knots. "Yeah. Just texting."

"Cool." Jordan toweled her hair. "But like, this is the party of the year, you know? Ben's parents are literally never home again, and—"

"I know." Maya looked at the orange. Then at the water. Then at Jordan, who was waiting for her to say something not-awkward.

Her phone screen dimmed. The protective glass went black, reflecting her own face back. Wide eyes. That ridiculous hat.

She pulled off the hat.

"Okay," Maya said. "Okay, I'm going in." She dropped her phone on the chair. Like, actually left it behind. The 2024 equivalent of walking into a volcano.

Jordan's grin lit up her whole face. "FINALLY."

The water hit her skin like shocking electricity, and for three seconds she couldn't breathe, and then she broke the surface, gasping, while everyone cheered like she'd just won Olympic gold.

Harper yelled, "Someone get Maya an orange! She needs vitamins for that cannonball!"

They were laughing with her, Maya realized. Not at her.

She treaded water, heart hammering, and thought: maybe next time, she'd jump in first. Ask questions later. The phone could wait. The water was right here, and she was already soaked anyway.