Pool Party Apocalypse

Maya dragged her palms down her face, leaving streaks of cheap SPF 50. The sunscreen smell alone was giving her a headache. Pool parties were supposed to be fun—that's what Instagram sold, anyway. In reality, they were mostly just standing around in wet clothing while trying to look effortless.

"You look like a zombie," said Jax, appearing beside her with two sodas. "You good?"

"I'm fantastic," Maya deadpanned. "Just living my best life."

She wasn't. She'd been secretly watching Tyler all afternoon, which was pathetic. Tyler, who laughed with his head thrown back. Tyler, who'd smiled at her once in homeroom and made her entire week. She felt like a total creep, a wannabe spy gathering intelligence on someone who'd never notice her. Jax knew, obviously. Jax knew everything.

"That's bull," Jax said, reading her mind. "He's looked over here like three times."

"He's probably looking at the palm tree behind me."

"The palm tree that's currently dripping dead fronds into your hair? Yes, truly captivating stuff." Jax smirked. "Just talk to him, Maya. He's a person, not a mythical creature."

Easier said than done. The social dynamics of pool parties were ancient and mysterious. There were the loud confident people doing cannonballs, the couples making everyone uncomfortable with their PDA, and then there were people like her—hovering on the edges, pretending to be absorbed in their phone screens while actually watching everything.

Then Tyler was walking over.

Maya's stomach did that awful flip thing. Her brain supplied approximately zero helpful words.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she managed back. Smooth. Truly Shakespearean.

"I saw you at the coffee shop yesterday," Tyler said. "You were reading that book with the blue cover—the one about space exploration? I've been wanting to read that."

Maya blinked. He'd noticed her? He'd noticed what she was reading?

"Oh yeah," she said, feeling something genuinely warm bloom in her chest. "It's actually really good. I can lend it to you."

"That'd be awesome." He grinned, and it was even better up close. "I'm Tyler, by the way."

"Maya."

"Nice to officially meet you, Maya." He glanced toward the pool. "Wanna get in? The water's actually not terrible."

She looked at Jax, who was making absolutely no effort to hide their "I TOLD YOU SO" face.

"Yeah," Maya said, and realized she meant it. "Yeah, I do."

Sometimes zombies could wake up after all. Sometimes spies didn't need to spy. Sometimes you just had to get in the pool.