Goldfish Won't Last

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, toes curled against the concrete. The water looked so easy for everyone else—girls doing cannonballs, guys showing off their dive techniques, laughter bouncing off the fence like confetti.

Maya just wanted to go home.

"You're doing that thing where you look like you're calculating escape routes," Sam said, appearing beside her with two sodas. They'd been friends since third grade, back when friendship bracelets meant forever and nothing hurt.

"I literally am," Maya muttered.

Sam rolled her eyes but offered a can. "Here. Jake's mom bought, like, ten different weird fruits from that international market. Nobody wants to try this papaya thing. It's your chance to be sophisticated."

Maya took it. "That makes zero sense."

"Dude, just eat the fruit. People will think you're cultured. Meanwhile, you're standing here in a one-piece because you're scared someone'll notice you have hips."

Maya flinched. "First of all, it's a bikini. Second, thanks for the pep talk."

"Anytime." Sam bumped her shoulder. "Remember when I won that goldfish at the carnival? You helped me name him Fin. We spent, like, a week planning his whole aquarium setup, and then he lasted two days."

"Fin was a solid name."

"The point is," Sam said, "sometimes you overprepare for things that don't need to be that deep." She gestured at the pool. "Like this. It's just water. Nobody's watching your hips."

Maya looked at the papaya. Weird, bumpy skin. Inside, probably soft and sweet.

"Jake's staring at you," Sam added, casual.

Maya's stomach tried to exit through her throat. "He's not."

"He absolutely is. But hey—if you're not into him, you're not into him. Just don't spend the whole summer standing at the edge."

Maya took a breath. The papaya wasn't going to bite. The pool wasn't going to bite. Jake might, metaphorically.

She handed her soda back.

"Watch this," Maya said, and walked toward the deep end.

Later, they'd laugh about how papaya tasted like "soap crossed with melon" and how Maya's belly flop earned honorable mention in Jake's group chat. But in that moment, diving in felt like the bravest thing she'd ever done.