Pool Party Apocalypse

Maya's hands were literally shaking when she pulled her brand-new iPhone 15 from the pocket of her denim shorts. The screen was completely black. Dead. Gone. And all because of one stupid moment at Tyler's pool party.

Three hours earlier, she'd been vibing by the pool, trying to look casual while basically hyperventilating about how good Tyler looked dripping wet in his swim trunks. She'd been mid-text to her best friend Chloe—"okay but what if i literally jump him rn lowkey"—when someone cannonballed into the pool. A massive splash wave hit her like a tsunami, and her iPhone slipped from her grip, diving straight into the deep end like it had a death wish.

"Nooo!" she'd screamed, jumping in after it. Full-on horror movie moment. She'd managed to grab it, but the damage was done. Now she sat on her bed, feeling like a zombie from watching too many apocalypse movies with her older brother. Her eyes burned from crying. Her hair still smelled like chlorine.

Downstairs, Buster—her family's golden retriever—started barking like he'd just won the lottery. That dog had absolutely zero chill.

"Maya! Phone's for you!" her mom yelled up the stairs.

Maya dragged herself downstairs, feeling like absolute death. Her mom handed her the landline receiver, and somehow, she just knew.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Tyler's voice came through the line, all warm and scratchy. "Chloe gave me your number. I heard what happened with your phone. That sucks."

Maya's heart did this embarrassingly fluttery thing. "Yeah. My mom's gonna kill me."

"So I was thinking," Tyler said, and she could hear him smiling. "Since you don't have a phone anymore... maybe I could just come over sometime? Like, we could actually hang. For real."

Her zombie brain short-circuited. "Wait. Really?"

"Yeah. Really. Tomorrow?"

Maya looked at Buster, who was now doing his trademark happy dance, spinning in circles because he knew. The universe worked in mysterious ways. Maybe losing her phone was exactly what she needed to stop hiding behind texts and start actually living.

"Tomorrow sounds perfect," she said, and for the first time all night, she didn't feel like a zombie at all.