Operation Social Suicide

Maya's mom had packed her a spinach smoothie for breakfast—because nothing says 'cool at a pool party' like green teeth stains. She checked her reflection in the sliding glass door for the eighth time. Clean. Thank god.

The DeSantos' backyard was basically a water park, complete with a fake palm tree that looked like it was judging everyone. Maya stood near the snack table, clutching a red plastic cup like it contained the antidote to her social anxiety. Meanwhile, the popular group—led by Chloe, whose Instagram had more followers than Maya's entire school—were swimming laps and laughing like they'd never experienced awkwardness in their lives.

"Hey, Maya!" Jason waved from the pool. His hair was wet, his smile was perfect, and Maya's stomach did that traitorous thing it always did when he looked at her.

She mentally patted herself on the back. Three weeks of watching Chloe's TikToks to understand her slang was finally paying off. Maya was basically a social spy now, undercover and learning the ways of the popular people. She'd graduated from 'library girl who reads at lunch' to 'library girl who sometimes makes eye contact.' Growth.

Then Jason's golden retriever, Buster, decided today was the day he'd become a chaos demon. He bolted from the patio—straight toward Maya, knocking over the snack table in his wake. Chips flew everywhere. A bowl of guacamole met a tragic end.

Buster skidded to a halt at Maya's feet and proceeded to shake vigorously, spraying pool water all over her outfit. She looked down. Her white shirt now featured a lovely greenish-brown splash pattern.

Chloe and her friends stopped swimming. The backyard went quiet. Maya waited for the embarrassment to consume her whole, but instead—she started laughing. Like, actually laughing. Buster sat there looking proud of himself, tongue out, tail wagging.

"Buster, you absolute legend," Jason said, running over, grinning. "Sorry, Maya. He's a disaster."

"Honestly," Maya said, gesturing at her guacamole-speckled shirt, "this is the most interesting thing that's happened to me all summer."

Chloe snorted. "Okay, that was actually iconic. Want help cleaning up?"

And just like that, Maya wasn't spying on the popular kids anymore. She was sitting on the pool deck with them, sharing guacamole war stories, while Buster napped on her feet like she was his new favorite human. The spinach smoothie incident this morning? Merely character development.