Lightning in My Palm

The humidity in Tyler's backyard was thick enough to chew. Everyone from sophomore year was either cannonballing into the **pool** or huddled around coolers, pretending to be way more drunk than they actually were. I stood on the deck, my **palm**s sweating against my red solo cup like I was holding onto something precious instead of lukewarm soda.

"You gonna jump or what?" Marcus called out, grinning from the deep end. "Water's perfect, bro."

I wasn't thinking about the water. I was thinking about Maya, who was currently laughing at something Tyler said, her hair wet and slicked back, droplets sliding down her neck like she was in a commercial for everything I couldn't have. We'd been flirting in math class for weeks — shared notes, lingering glances, accidental knee brushes under desks. Tonight felt like the tipping point. The moment when whatever-this-was became something real, or it didn't.

Then Tyler's older brother Jason started telling that story again. The one about how he'd stared down a **bull** at his cousin's farm last summer, how the animal had charged and locked eyes with him, and how he'd stood his ground until it backed down. Jason pantomimed the whole thing, flexing, everyone oooh-ing like he hadn't told it twelve times already.

"That's such **bull**," I heard Maya say from behind me, and my heart did this stupid little flip.

She was right there. Close enough that I could smell chlorine and coconut shampoo. Close enough that my brain went completely static, like someone had struck me with **lightning**, except instead of getting electrocuted, I just forgot every word of English.

"Hey," she said. "You okay? You look like you're gonna pass out."

"I'm good," I managed. "Just. Thinking."

"About jumping?" She nodded toward the **pool**. "Because Jason's story is definitely not worth missing your turn."

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I'm gonna."

And then I did. I jumped. And when I came up sputtering, Maya was laughing at me from the edge, and I was laughing too, and somehow her hand was in mine, and Jason was still doing his **bull** story in the background, and the summer sky was clearing, and for the first time all night, my **palm** wasn't sweating anymore.

Sometimes the scariest moments aren't the ones you see coming. Sometimes they're just you, jumping into a pool, finally brave enough to come up for air.