Palm Reader at the Pool Party

The pool shimmered like liquid diamonds under the string lights, but Maya stood at the edge, clutching her soda like a lifeline. She'd spent twenty minutes fixing her hair, but now it felt stupid. Everyone else was already swimming, laughing, being the kind of comfortable she couldn't fake.

"Hey!" A voice behind her. Chloe, the girl from her English class, dropped onto the lounge chair next to her. "You're not swimming?"

Maya shrugged. "Not really feeling it."

Chloe studied her, this new intensity in her eyes that made Maya's stomach do that thing where it forgot how to be an organ. "My cousin taught me to read palms. Want me to try?"

"Um, sure?" Maya extended her hand before she could overthink it.

Chloe's palm was warm against Maya's, electric in a way that had nothing to do with mystical powers. She traced the lines on Maya's hand with careful fingers, like each one was a secret code.

"You're gonna do something brave this summer," Chloe said softly. "I can see it."

"Brave?" Maya laughed nervously. "I'm terrified of everything."

"That's not what your palm says." Chloe looked up, and the sky behind her was painted this incredible orange, like the sunset was bleeding into the water, into the moment, into everything. "Also, you have really nice hands. Just saying."

Maya's heart hammered against her ribs. Was Chloe hitting on her? Or was she just being nice? She could never tell.

"I should probably get in the pool," Maya said, standing up. Her hands were shaking.

"Yeah. Me too." Chloe stood too, close. Too close. Not close enough.

They stood there at the edge of the pool, the orange light turning the water into something magical, something possible. Maya looked at Chloe, then at the water, then back at Chloe.

"Race you," she said, and jumped in before she could talk herself out of it.

The water was cold and perfect, and when she surfaced, Chloe was already splashing her, laughing like this was the best moment of her entire summer. Maybe it was. Maybe bravery wasn't about not being scared. Maybe it was about jumping in anyway.

Maya surfaced, gasping, and Chloe was already there, grinning. "See? Brave."

Maya smiled back. "Yeah. Maybe."