Pool Party Panic

The invitation sat on my desk like a death sentence. Kayla's pool party. This Saturday. Everyone going.

I stared at my reflection, running a hand through my hair. It never did what I wanted it to. Frizzy, flat, wrong. I'd spent the past three weeks taking those hair vitamins from TikTok because apparently they could turn straw into silk in less than a month. Spoiler: they couldn't.

"You going?" Maya asked at lunch, sliding into the seat across from me.

"I don't know." I poked at my pizza. "Pool parties aren't really my vibe."

"Jordan's going." She wiggled her eyebrows.

My stomach did that stupid fluttery thing. Jordan, who sat behind me in chem, who I'd been lowkey stalking on cable's streaming service because we both rated the same obscure anime five stars. Jordan, who I'd never actually spoken to outside of class assignments.

"So?" I tried to sound casual. Failed.

"So maybe this is your chance." Maya grinned. "Plus, I heard you've been taking those supplements. Let the vitamin magic work its charm."

I groaned. "You heard that from who?"

"Everyone knows everything. It's freshman year, not the CIA."

The night of the party, I stood in my bathroom for twenty minutes just staring at my swimsuit. My arms looked wrong. My legs looked wrong. Everything looked wrong.

I thought about backing out. About faking sick. About saying my cat died (we didn't even have a cat).

Then I thought about Jordan. About how maybe, just maybe, this was what normal people did. They went to parties. They hung out. They didn't overthink everything until their brain short-circuited.

I grabbed my towel and walked out the door.

The pool was already packed when I arrived. Music thumped from somewhere. People were everywhere—laughing, splashing, being effortlessly cool. I stood on the edge, clutching my towel like a lifeline.

"Hey."

I turned. Jordan stood there dripping wet, towel slung over their shoulder. "You made it."

"Yeah." I managed a smile. "Eventually."

"Come swimming." They nodded toward the water. "The temperature's perfect."

I looked at the pool. At all the people. At Jordan waiting for me.

My hair would get messed up. My carefully applied sunscreen would wash off. I'd have to actually exist in a swimsuit in front of everyone.

"Okay." I dropped my towel on a chair. "Yeah."

I jumped in. The water shocked me cold, then wrapped around me like acceptance. I came up sputtering, pushing wet hair out of my face, and Jordan laughed, and I laughed too, and maybe this wasn't so terrifying after all.

Sometimes you just have to jump in anyway.