Pool Party Prophecy

My cousin's pool party was exactly where I didn't want to be. The kinda scene where everyone's performing their coolest selves, and I'm just trying not to embarrass myself. Which is hard when you're secretly afraid of putting your head underwater.

I'd been rocking this bucket hat all summer—partly for the aesthetic, mostly to hide my awkward haircut that I'd tried to fix myself. Big mistake. The brim kept my face partially shadowed, which felt like armor against all these confident teenagers in their swimsuits, posting stories like their lives were a movie.

"You want your palm read?" Maya asked, setting up at a card table. She'd gone full mystic vibe since summer started.

I sat down, sliding my hands across the table. My palms were literally sweating—classic me.

Maya traced the lines on my hand. "You're hiding something. Fear of... deep water?"

My face burned. Was it that obvious?

"And you'll overcome it," she added. "But not alone."

I rolled my eyes. Obviously.

Then Buster, my aunt's golden retriever, lumbered over and nosed my knee. He'd been my only real friend at these family gatherings since I was little. His fur was wet from the pool.

"He keeps trying to get me to swim," my cousin Jake said, nodding toward where Buster had abandoned his favorite tennis ball in the shallow end. "But he won't go past the steps without me."

Something clicked.

Later, when everyone was doing cannonballs and acting like they owned the place, I found myself at the pool's edge. Buster swam over, paddling toward me like he'd been waiting.

I took off my hat—what did I have to lose anymore?

"You coming in?" Jake called.

"Yeah," I said. "Think I am."

I lowered myself into the water. Buster swam circles around me like a furry lifeguard. When I finally ducked my head under—just for a second—it wasn't scary. It was just... water.

Breaking the surface, gasping, I heard Maya yell, "Called it!" and Jake laughing, "Finally!"

Buster shook off next to me, spraying everyone. My hair was wrecked, my hat was on the deck, and I was treading water in the deep end with a grinning dog and cousins who actually knew me now.

Sometimes the best prophecies are the ones you make real yourself.