Goldfish in the Deep End

The chlorine smell still clings to everything three hours after practice. That's your whole summer, really. Running from the house to the pool, swimming laps until your arms feel like jelly, then doing it again tomorrow because Coach says state championships don't win themselves. But today's different. Today, you're on a mission.

Your best friend Lena thinks she's being subtle, but you've known her since seventh grade. You notice things. Like how she keeps 'forgetting' her phone on the bench when Tyler from the swim team shows up. Like how she suddenly needs to practice her butterfly stroke 'one more time' every time he's in the fast lane. It's pathetic. It's also kind of adorable.

So now you're basically a spy. Not the cool James Bond kind. The kind lurking behind the vending machine, watching Lena and Tyler talk after practice. You're drowning in secondhand embarrassment.

'This is ridiculous,' you mutter. The vending machine hums in agreement.

Then you see it — Tyler's phone on the bench, unlocked. Your pulse spikes. You're not proud of what happens next. One glance. Just one. His notes app is open. There's a list: 'Things to talk about with Lena.' Your heart does this weird fluttery thing.

You're still processing this when someone clears their throat behind you.

'Spying is technically illegal,' Tyler says. He's weirdly calm about it. 'Also, my phone thanks you for your interest.'

Your face burns. You're going to die. This is it. This is how you go out.

'I was just —'

'Saving me from myself?' He smiles. 'I've been trying to talk to her for weeks. I freeze up. It's like my brain becomes a goldfish or something. Three-second memory reset. Every. Single. Time.'

You stare at him. Then you start laughing. He starts too.

Later, when Lena finds you both, she turns the color of a tomato. But she's smiling. And maybe, just maybe, state championships aren't the only thing worth swimming for this summer.