No Filter Needed

Maya stood by the pool clutching her vitamin water like it was some kind of VIP pass. Which, honestly, at Jess's party it basically was. Everyone had them — pastel bottles catching the sunlight, wellness aesthetic on lock.

Her iphone buzzed in her pocket. Probably the group chat blowing up with photos she wasn't in. Classic Maya move: show up, stand awkwardly, leave with zero evidence she existed.

"You gonna get in or just hydrate aggressively?"

Maya jumped. It was Leo, dripping wet, hair everywhere, grinning like he knew something she didn't.

"I'm good," she said, voice doing that cracking thing when you're trying to sound chill and failing.

"Suit yourself." Leo flopped onto the pool chair next to hers. "These parties are lowkey exhausting, right? Everyone performing all the time."

Maya blinked. No one ever said that out loud. The unspoken rule was: pretend you're having the best time or die trying.

"Yeah," she admitted. "I've been here an hour and taken zero photos. My feed's gonna think I died."

Leo laughed. "Mine's not exactly thriving either." He pulled out his own iphone, screen cracked but still glowing. "Mostly just screenshots of memes I send my sister. Real influencer energy."

Maya smiled. Actually smiled, not the fake one she'd been practicing in her mirror.

"Wanna just... bounce?" Leo asked. "There's a spot by the water where you can actually see stars. No filters needed."

She looked at her vitamin water, then at the pool where everyone was still performing their perfect lives. Then at Leo, who was already standing up, waiting.

"Yeah," Maya said. "Let's go."

They walked away from the party, phones in pockets, toward the actual water. And somewhere between there and the shore, Maya remembered she didn't have to perform all the time. Some nights, real life was better than anything she could post.