Operation Chlorine

I felt like a total loser spying on Jordan's pool party from behind the hedge in my backyard. Like, who does that? But here I was, crouching in hydrangeas, phone in hand, watching the popular kids splash around in Jordan's inground pool while I sat alone with my vitamin gummies.

My mom still bought those Disney princess gummy vitamins. 'They're good for you, sweetie!' she'd chirp, like I wasn't fifteen and practically grown. I'd stopped taking them months ago, but tonight I needed the comfort sugar.

Across the pool, someone spotted me. Maya—Jordan's sophomore cousin who'd just moved here from LA. She waved like she'd known me forever, then slipped through the gate and into my yard.

"You spying?" she asked, dropping onto the grass beside me. "Same. I've been hiding in the bathroom for twenty minutes."

"Why?" I asked, surprised she wasn't automatically part of the cool crowd.

She pulled a bottle of supplements from her pocket. "My mom's a wellness influencer. I have to take these algae vitamins every hour or she'll literally Facetime me to verify. It's humiliating."

I laughed and showed her my princess vitamins. She didn't even judge me.

"Wanna crash the party?" she asked. "I'll create a distraction."

Maya marched over to the pool and announced, "Who wants to see me do a cannonball off the roof?" Jordan and his friends gathered, phones ready. Meanwhile, I slipped into the hot tub like I'd been there the whole time.

Later, we ended up back in my yard, feet dangling in my above-ground pool, eating gummy vitamins and watching Jordan's party wind down. "Next time," Maya said, "we're not spying from the bushes. We're showing up like we belong there."

"Deal," I said. "But I'm keeping the vitamins."