Pool Party Paranoia

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, clutching her iPhone like a lifeline. The screen reflected her wide eyes as she scrolled through Instagram for the third time in two minutes. Liam's story from ten minutes ago showed him at the EXACT same party she was currently attending. But he was nowhere to be found.

"You good?" Jada asked, flipping her wet hair over her shoulder. She'd been Maya's friend since sixth grade, but lately everything felt different.

"Yeah, just... waiting for a text," Maya lied, slipping her phone into her towel.

The problem was, Maya had noticed something weird. Every time she posted something private—like her song recommendations on Spotify or which coffee shop she'd visited—Jada would show up there the next day. Coincidence? Or was Jada lowkey spying on her through some burnter account?

That's when it hit her. The number on Liam's story wasn't from this party—it was from TWO WEEKS ago. Maya had seen it before but hadn't realized.

But the real kicker? As Maya watched Jada laugh at something someone said across the pool, she noticed Jada's iPhone locked screen. It was open to Maya's Spotify profile.

No way.

Maya swam over to the side, her heart pounding. "Jada, can I ask you something?"

Jada's expression didn't shift. "What's up?"

"Are you... are you like, obsessed with me or something?" The words came out harsher than intended.

The entire pool area went silent.

"What?" Jada's face went bright red. "No? That's literally bull—"

"Then why are you always at the same places? Why were you just looking at my Spotify?" Maya's voice cracked. She'd been bottling this up for weeks.

Jada stared at her, then actually laughed. "Maya, we have the EXACT same music taste. That's literally why we're friends. And I go to those places because—hello—YOU recommend them."

Oh.

Maya felt her face heat up. She'd built up this whole spy narrative in her head when really, she'd just found a genuine friend who actually got her.

"My bad," Maya muttered, sinking into the water until only her eyes were above surface. "I'm literally overthinking everything."

"No worries," Jada called out, already turning back to the conversation. "But next time? Just ask me instead of going full detective mode."

Maya's phone buzzed in her towel. A notification from Jada: *New playlist: "Songs to Overthink To"*

Somehow, they were going to be okay.