Green & Gold

Maya's **iphone** buzzed with the third unanswered text from Jake: *pool party @ Tyler's. Everyone's coming.* She stared at her reflection—cropped tank, oversized **hat** pulled low to hide the hair she'd dyed green on impulse two days ago. Her mom's voice echoed: *"You're not leaving the house like that."* Too bad she was already gone.

The party scene hit like a wall of humidity—chlorine and cheap cologne, bodies slick with sunscreen. Tyler's backyard pool shimmered with underwater LED lights, already packed with the popular crowd doing cannonballs and flirting. Maya hung back by the snack table, scrolling Instagram, watching everyone else live their best lives through a screen.

"Hey, running late?" Jake materialized, dripping wet, grinning like she'd been waiting. His eyes flicked to her hat. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just... not feeling it."

"Come on." He grabbed her hand before she could protest. " Tyler's mom made those spinach wraps you like. Weird flex, but okay."

She laughed despite herself. Jake remembered.

They ended up poolside, legs dangling in the water. The hat slipped. Jake didn't comment on the green hair—just said, "Actually kind of fire, not gonna lie." She took it off. Realized she'd been hiding from nothing.

Someone cranked the playlist. They ended up **running** through the sprinklers with everyone else, hair plastered to their faces, shouting lyrics to songs they barely knew. Her phone stayed in her bag the whole time.

Later, teeth-biting into a spinach wrap with chlorinated hands, Jake's phone buzzed. He ignored it.

"Aren't you gonna check?" she asked.

"Nah." He nodded toward the pool, where Tyler was doing a backflip off the diving board. "I'm kind of busy living."

Maya smiled. She'd been so focused on capturing the moment, she'd forgotten to be in it. The green hair stayed. The hat stayed off. Some nights, you don't need a filter—you just need to jump in.