Lightning at the Midnight Pool

Maya's phone buzzed with the text she'd been waiting three days for: *pool party @ lexi's. midnight. dont be lame.*

She stared at her swimsuit, the black one-piece she'd bought because two-pieces were for girls who didn't hate their bodies. Which was everyone else, apparently.

The party was already in full swing when she slipped through the gate. Lexi's backyard pool was basically a small lake, complete with this ancient stone **sphinx** statue Lexi's weird rich aunt had imported from somewhere. It looked ridiculous, the sphinx's face half-eroded, staring out at a bunch of drunk sophomores doing cannonballs.

"Yo, Maya!" shouted Jax, emerging from the water like something out of a movie. He was everything Maya wasn't – tan, confident, wearing swim trunks that sat low on his hips. "You gonna stand there or get in?"

She hesitated. The **pool** glowed blue from underwater lights, and beyond the fence, actual **lightning** cracked across the sky. Summer storm incoming.

"I'm good," she said.

"Come on," said a voice behind her.

She turned. It was Fox – real name Fiona, but everyone called her Fox because of her hair, this wild orange-red mane that made her look like she was constantly in motion. Fox was the kind of girl who sat with the theater kids but somehow got along with everyone.

"Pool's warm," Fox said. "And Jax has been asking about you all week."

Maya's stomach did something stupid and fluttery. "No he hasn't."

"He literally has. I'm the one who told him you'd come." Fox's grin was sharp. "You're welcome, by the way."

Before Maya could respond, the sky opened up. Rain poured down like the world was ending, and everyone screamed and scattered toward the house. She stood there, soaked instantly, while Fox just threw her head back and laughed.

"This is better," Fox said, water streaming down her face. "Look at that sphinx. He's seen some shit."

The statue was getting absolutely pummeled by rain, and somehow it looked kind of majestic.

"You know," Fox continued, "ancient Egyptians believed the sphinx guarded secrets. Mysteries. The big questions."

"Like what?" Maya asked, shivering.

"Like why you're so scared of Jax noticing you when he's been noticing you for months." Fox stepped closer. "Or why you think you need to be someone else to be worth seeing."

Another lightning strike illuminated the yard, and in that flash, Maya saw everything differently – the ridiculous statue, the chaotic party, herself standing there getting absolutely drenched, and Fox's knowing smile.

"Maybe," Maya said, wiping rain from her eyes, "I'm just starting to figure that out."