Pool Party Panic

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, clutching her solo cup like it was a lifeline. The sun beat down on Tyler's backyard, where half the sophomore class was already splashing around like they'd been best friends forever. Meanwhile, Maya was still trying to figure out how to exist without looking like a total loser.

"You coming in or what?" Jenna called from the water, flipping her wet hair like a shampoo commercial. Jenna, who had somehow mastered the art of being effortlessly cool while Maya was still out here overthinking every breath.

"Yeah, just, uh, gonna finish this first," Maya lied, gesturing with her orange Fanta that had been mostly ice for twenty minutes. Because obviously the problem wasn't the soda — it was the bikini situation. The one she'd bought online without trying on because her mom said she looked great in everything, which was sweet but also categorically false.

"Whatever," Jenna said, already turning back to her friends.

Maya considered making a run for it. She could claim a family emergency. She could say she forgot she'd promised to help her grandma with something. Anything was better than standing here while everyone else lived their best lives.

That's when she saw it — a cat, maybe a calico or something orange-ish, crouched under a deck chair, watching her with what looked suspiciously like judgment.

"Don't look at me like that," she whispered. "At least you're not expected to be in a two-piece in front of the entire debate team."

The cat yawned.

Maya sighed. So that's how it was gonna be.

She heard someone behind her and turned to see Lucas — actual Lucas, who'd sat behind her in English since September and whose laugh she'd definitely never noticed was cute — holding a water gun like he was about to go to war.

"Team meeting," he said, gesturing toward the pool. "Jenna and Tyler are dominating. We need to strategize."

"Oh, um, I was actually—"

"Not taking no for an answer," Lucas said, already walking backward toward the water. "Also, fair warning: I play dirty."

Maya looked at the cat again. It had closed its eyes, like this was all too boring to witness.

"Fine," she said, setting down her orange soda. "But I'm on your team only if we actually win."

Lucas grinned. "Deal."

As she stepped toward the pool, Maya realized something: nobody was watching her. Nobody cared about the bikini thing or whether she looked cool or not. They were all too busy trying to hit each other with pool noodles and acting like they weren't flirting.

She jumped in, and the water felt like coming up for air after holding her breath way too long.