Pool Party Panic

Maya's palms were sweating so much she thought she might drop her iPhone into the grass. Not cool. Definitely not the vibe she was going for at Jake's end-of-summer pool party.

"You got this, girl," she whispered to herself, adjusting the straps of her swimsuit that suddenly felt way too revealing. The backyard was already packed with people from school—some swimming laps in the pool, others crowded around the patio furniture, Bluetooth speakers bumping.

She spotted Jake immediately, of course. He was holding court near the deep end, laughing at something. Her stomach did that annoying flip-flop thing.

"Hey! You made it!" It was Chloe, her lab partner from bio, waving from the edge of the pool. "Come swimming! The water's perfect!"

Maya forced a smile. "Yeah, just gotta—"

And then she saw it. A giant inflatable bear floatie drifting lazily across the pool. On it sat none other than Olivia Chen, their grade's unofficial queen bee, looking like she was posing for a TikTok.

"Oh hell no," Maya muttered under her breath.

Olivia caught her eye and smirked. "Maya! Finally. We were just talking about that cat filter you used in your story yesterday. Iconic."

The comment hung there—was she being roasted or complimented? Maya's brain short-circuited. But then Chloe grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the pool stairs.

"Ignore her," Chloe whispered. "Jake's been asking where you are."

The water hit her skin like freedom. Maya ducked under the surface, letting the cool silence wash away the panic. When she resurfaced, Jake was swimming over, that easy grin on his face.

"Hey," he said. "Glad you came."

Maya's palms stopped sweating. For the first time all day, she forgot about her iPhone, forgot about Olivia, forgot about overthinking everything.

"Me too," she said, and actually meant it.