Drowning in the Shallow End

My backwards cap was supposed to be lowkey cool, but I could feel the sweat pooling underneath it. Jordan's party. The invites had gone out weeks ago, and somehow I'd made the cut. Probably because his mom made him invite the whole sophomore class.

The pool deck was packed. Blake and his crew were by the deep end, holding court like they owned the place. I'd planned to just chill on one of the patio chairs, fake a stomach thing, dip after an hour. That was the plan.

Then I saw Maya.

She was in the shallow end, floating on one of those inflatable pizza slices they'd bought for cheap at Target, scrolling through her phone like she was anywhere but here. Her hair was wet. She'd actually gone in.

"Hey." The word slipped out before I could stop it. Great. Now I was committed.

Maya looked up, shielding her eyes. "Oh hey. You gonna swim or just supervise?"

"I'm good." I gestured vaguely at my shoes. "Forgot my suit."

"Lame excuse." She kicked water at me. A few drops hit my jeans. "Everyone knows you can just jump in in your clothes. It's a party, not a swim meet."

Before I could respond, Blake's voice boomed across the deck. "YO MAYA. Truth or dare? Spin the bottle's starting."

She rolled her eyes. "Here we go."

"You don't have to—" I started.

"Nah, I'm good." She stood up, water streaming off her. "But you should come. Seriously. You've been hovering all night."

I followed her toward the circle forming on the grass. My heart was doing something weird. Blake was staring at me like I was a bear that had wandered into someone's backyard—unpredictable, potentially dangerous, definitely not supposed to be there.

The bottle pointed at Maya. Some junior named Chloe asked the question.

"Truth," Maya said immediately.

"Who're you gonna ask to homecoming?"

Silence. Even Blake stopped grinning.

Maya looked around the circle, her eyes skipping over Blake, landing somewhere past him, then flicking to me. Just for a second.

"Haven't decided," she said, and I watched her face carefully. "Maybe someone unexpected."

"Boring," Blake scoffed. "That's not an answer. That's playing it safe. That's bull."

Maya stood up. "You know what? I changed my mind. Dare."

Chloe grinned. "I dare you to push someone into the pool. Your choice."

Maya turned. Looked right at me.

"Your hat," she said. "Take it off."

I hesitated. Then pulled it off. My hair was flat. I'd sweated through the brim.

"Okay," she said. "Now jump in."

So I did.

The water was cold. It shocked my lungs. When I came up sputtering, laughing, the whole circle was watching. Blake looked confused. Maya was smiling, actually smiling.

"Better?" she called.

"Yeah," I said, treading water. "Actually."

She grabbed my hat from where I'd dropped it on the grass and put it on her own head. Backwards. It looked better on her anyway.

"Good," she said. "Now we're even."