Lightning in the Chlorine

The pool shimmered like broken glass under the mid-July sun, and I stood at the edge wearing swim trunks that felt two sizes too big. It was Tyler's sweet sixteen, and half the sophomore class was already in the water, their laughter ricocheting off the fence like they'd all been friends since kindergarten. I hadn't even mastered the art of entering a pool without looking like a malfunctioning seal.

"You coming in or what?" Maya called from the deep end. She was swimming laps with effortless grace, her dark hair slicked back, water beading on her shoulders like liquid stars. I'd been secretly obsessed with her since seventh period English when she'd asked to borrow my highlighter and our fingers had brushed for like three whole seconds.

"Yeah, just warming up," I lied, adjusting my goggles like they gave me some kind of tactical advantage.

My stomach growled. I'd barely eaten all day, too nervous about looking like a dope in front of everyone. I spotted the snack table and made a beeline for it, grabbed what I thought was a spinach wrap, and practically inhaled it standing behind the ficus tree. Anything to delay the inevitable swimming situation.

Then I saw it in the backyard mirror: a massive, bright green piece of spinach wedged between my front teeth like I was auditioning for a vegetable commercial.

I was already running toward the bathroom to floss when the sky cracked open. Lightning splintered the air, purple-white and terrifying. Everyone screamed and scrambled out of the pool, and I ended up smashed against the back door with Maya, our shoulders touching, rain already misting her face.

"Your," she started, then pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh. "You have..."

I ran my tongue over my teeth. The spinach. Still there. My face burned hotter than the sun.

"Spinach," I said miserably. "Awesome."

"Honestly?" Maya laughed, and it was this genuine sound that made something in my chest do a weird flip. "It's kind of impressive. Like, how much spinach were you planning to store for winter?"

I shrugged, finally wiping the evidence away with my thumb. "Strategic reserves."

"Well," she said, looking at me with those eyes that made everything else go kind of fuzzy around the edges. "At least you're not in the pool during a lightning storm. That would be genuinely concerning."

"Small victories."

"Hey," she said softly. "You wanna hang out inside? Tyler's mom ordered pizza."

The rain hammered against the roof, drowning out everything else. For the first time all day, I stopped feeling like I was constantly running toward something or away from it. I was just standing there with spinach in my teeth and a gorgeous girl who thought my awkwardness was kind of charming.

"Yeah," I said. "I'd like that."