Pool Party Lightning Strike

Maya pulled her baseball hat low over her forehead, hoping it would hide the fact that she was definitely, absolutely not supposed to be at Tyler's pool party. She'd been stalking his Instagram stories for weeks—okay, months—playing spy from behind the safety of her iPhone screen. But when Jenna accidentally let it slip that the whole squad was invited, Maya found herself RSVP-ing "yes!! 💦" before her brain could process what a terrible idea this was.

Now she stood by the snack table, clutching her phone like a lifeline, watching everyone splash around in Tyler's inground pool like they'd been born in chlorine. Maya could swim—technically—but doing it in front of people was a whole different situation. Especially Jordan, who looked like a literal mermaid executing perfect dives off the diving board while Maya was still debating whether to remove her cover-up.

"You gonna get in or what?"

Maya jumped. Tyler stood there, dripping wet, grinning that stupid attractive grin that made her forget how to form sentences. "Uh. Maybe. Eventually. The water's probably cold."

"It's heated," he said. "And I promise no one's watching you. We're too busy trying to dunk Jordan."

A crash of thunder made everyone freeze. The sky opened up, and suddenly lightning was flashing across the darkening clouds like someone was taking pictures of them with the world's biggest flash.

"Everyone inside, NOW!" Tyler's mom shouted from the back door.

The group scrambled for the house, leaving puddles everywhere. Maya helped gather the snacks, her hat still pulled low, her cover-up still on. But as the storm raged outside, someone put on a playlist, and somehow they ended up sitting in a circle on the basement floor playing truth or dare like elementary schoolers.

"Maya, truth or dare?" Jordan asked, her hair still wet from the pool.

"Truth," Maya said immediately.

"What's with the hat? You've been wearing it inside for like two hours."

The room went quiet. Maya felt her face burn. She could lie. She could make something up. But suddenly Jordan's words from earlier echoed in her head—everyone's just trying to dunk someone, and no one's actually watching you as hard as you think they are.

"I'm having a bad hair day," Maya said, pulling off the hat. Her curly hair frizzed everywhere. "Also I didn't want anyone to see me panic about getting in the pool because I get self-conscious about my body and I've been stalking Tyler's Instagram for months but never actually spoken to him until today. So. That's the truth."

Silence. Then Tyler started laughing. But it wasn't mean laughing.

"Dude," he said, "I've been trying to talk to you since math class last year. I thought YOU thought I was weird."

The lightning flashed outside, illuminating everything for just a second—the basement, the circle of friends, Tyler's surprised face, Jordan's knowing smile. Maya put her hat back on, but this time she wore it backwards. And later, when the storm passed and they all ended up in the pool anyway, she was the first one to jump in, cover-up and all.