Palm Reader at the Pool Party

I was practically hyperventilating before I even stepped through the gate. Jessica's pool party. The social event of the season, and somehow, I'd actually been invited. Probably because her lab partner moved away three days before chemistry finals, and I happened to sit behind her in homeroom.

The backyard was already packed with the popular crowd — the ones who moved through life like they had insider knowledge. I stood by the palm tree near the fence, my palms sweating so bad I could practically start my own water feature. Everyone was either already in the pool or standing around it in their perfect swimsuits, laughing like they'd all rehearsed the conversation beforehand.

Then I saw Tyler. The same Tyler I'd been lowkey crushing on since September. He was running toward the diving board, his trunks hanging just right, his smile that perfect mix of confident and dorky that made my stomach do actual gymnastics. He caught me looking and gave me a tiny wave.

I died inside. I also somehow waved back like a normal human.

"Hey!" Tyler called, grabbing a towel and heading my direction. "You're the new girl, right? The one who helped Jessica with that chem lab?"

"Maya," I managed, my voice sounding miraculously not like a dying seal. "And yeah, that chem lab was basically my personality's origin story."

He laughed, and I mentally high-fived myself. Then he sat down next to me on the concrete edge. "You're not swimming?"

"I'm more of an observe-from-a-safe-distance kind of person. Less chance of accidental drowning in front of the entire junior class."

"Same," he said. "I'm mostly just here for the snacks. And to avoid my ex, who's currently doing laps in the deep end like she's training for the Olympics we didn't know existed."

I laughed, and the awkward knot in my chest loosened. We talked for twenty minutes — about nothing, really, but also everything. Music, teachers, the weird cafeteria food, how neither of us felt like we belonged in this crowd. Then I noticed him looking at my hand.

"You're always fidgeting with that silver ring," he said. "Is it, like, a thing?"

"Oh!" I felt my face heat up. "My grandma taught me palm reading before she passed away. I don't actually believe in it, but I still... I don't know. It's like having a piece of her with me. I catch myself looking at people's palms and wondering what she would've seen."

Tyler held out his hand, palm up. "Okay, hit me with it. What do you see?"

I hesitated, then traced the lines on his palm with my fingertip. "You're going to survive junior year. Probably make some mistakes. Definitely fall for the wrong person at least once." I paused. "But you're also going to figure out exactly who you're supposed to be."

He looked at me, really looked at me, and something in his expression shifted. "Yeah? You see all that?"

"I see a guy who's way deeper than he lets people think," I said, feeling suddenly brave. "And someone who probably needs a real friend more than he needs another fake party."

Tyler was quiet for a moment. Then he stood up, held out his hand, and pulled me up with him. "You want to get out of here? There's this diner down the street that has the world's worst milkshakes."

"Only if you're paying. Palm readers don't come cheap."

"Deal," he said, and we walked out together, leaving the pool party behind us.