Orange Crush at the Pool

Maya stood at the edge of the pool party, clutching her orange soda like it was a lifeline. The backyard was packed with juniors from North High, all splashing and laughing like they'd known each other forever. Maya had transferred in three weeks ago, and she was still very much the new kid.

Her oversized t-shirt covered her swimsuit – she'd chickened out of actually swimming, again. Across the pool, she noticed Jake, the guy from her history class who always wore those beat-up Vans. He was running toward the diving board with his friends, shouting something about doing a cannonball.

"Hey!" A voice made Maya jump, spilling orange soda down her front. Perfect.

It was Jake. He was standing right there, dripping wet, his hair plastered to his forehead. "You're Maya, right? From Mr. Harrison's class?"

She nodded, mortified by the orange stain spreading across her white shirt.

"Cool," he said. "We're about to play chicken fight in the pool. You wanna be my partner?"

Maya froze. Her brain was running through every possible way this could go wrong – falling in, looking uncool, embarrassing herself in front of everyone.

"Sure," she heard herself say.

Jake grinned. "Awesome. Just lose the shirt – it's just water, right?"

For the first time all night, Maya actually laughed. She peeled off her sticky t-shirt and followed him into the cool blue water, leaving the spilled orange soda and the awkward new girl standing on the edge. The real Maya was finally diving in.