No Filter Summer

Maya's thumbs moved on autopilot, doomscrolling through the party invite list on her iPhone. Her stomach did that familiar twist — the one that felt like she'd swallowed a handful of pool water wrong. Tyler's party. Everyone who was anyone would be there. Including her ex-best friend, now part of the cool crowd that had mysteriously materialized over summer break like they'd all attended some secret school for social climbing while she was stuck at swim camp.

"You going?" asked Leo, sliding onto the bench beside her at the park. His wet hair smelled like chlorine and coconut shampoo — pool smell, basically.

Maya shrugged, feigning indifference. "Maybe. If I feel like it."

"Bull," Leo said. "You've been staring at that invite for twenty minutes. Your thumb is literally hovering over 'maybe' like it's playing chicken with itself."

She locked her phone and shoved it in her pocket. "Whatever. It's just a party."

"Where there's a pool. And people. And social interaction." Leo smirked. "So basically your personal circle of hell."

Maya groaned and dropped her head into her hands. She'd been half-consciously running from this exact moment all summer — literally, logging her usual 5k every morning to escape the anxiety that waited at home. The running helped. It was simple. One foot in front of the other, heart pounding, lungs burning, but simple. Parties were not simple. Parties were where you said the wrong thing. Where your hair looked stupid. Where people remembered stuff.

"I have an idea," Leo said suddenly. "What if we just go for like, an hour? In and out. We establish presence, we don't make fools of ourselves, we leave with dignity intact."

"When has anything with teenagers ever ended with dignity intact?"

"Fair." Leo stood up and offered her a hand. "But think about it — if you don't go, you'll spend the whole night staring at your iPhone, watching everyone's Stories and imagining how much fun you're not having. At least if you go, the FOMO is real instead of hypothetical."

Maya stared at his hand. He was right, and she hated it.

"Fine," she said, grabbing it and letting him pull her up. "But if someone tries to make me do something embarrassing, I'm taking you down with me."

"Deal." Leo grinned. "Now let's go before you overthink yourself into staying home and baking stress-cookies again."

"Those cookies were delicious and you know it."

"They were "running away from my problems" flavored, Maya. There's a difference."

She laughed despite herself. Maybe this summer wouldn't be a total disaster after all. Maybe she could even survive the pool without hiding in the bathroom the whole time. Probably not. But at least she'd have backup.