Pool Party Protocol

The invitation said pool party, but Maya's brain read social experiment. She stood by the snack table, nursing a lukewarm soda, feeling like a goldfish in a bowl—exposed, small, and utterly out of her depth.

Everyone else was already swimming, laughing, splashing like they'd been born in chlorine. Maya had brought her swimsuit. It was currently wadded in her backpack, mocking her.

"You coming in or what?"

Maya jumped. Leo. The Leo. He was standing there, dripping wet, grinning like he knew something she didn't. His hair was plastered to his forehead and he had this tiny scar above his left eyebrow that Maya had spent way too much time thinking about in AP Bio.

"Uh," Maya said, brilliantly.

"The water's actually decent," he said. "For once."

There was a pause. Maya's heart did this weird skippy thing, like lightning striking underwater.

"I'm just gonna... yeah," she managed.

She retreated to the bathroom to change, cursing herself. Why was this so hard? Normal people didn't have existential crises over pool parties. But then, Maya had never been particularly good at normal.

When she finally emerged, swimsuit on and towel clutched around her like armor, she immediately spotted Leo emerging from the pool house with her backpack. Her actual backpack. The one she'd tucked behind a stack of towels.

He froze.

She froze.

The sphinx had less riddles than this moment.

"I was just—" Leo started, face flushing a suspicious shade of pink. "Your backpack fell. I was putting it back."

But it hadn't fallen. Maya knew it hadn't fallen.

"You went through my stuff," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No! I mean, yes, but—" Leo ran a hand through his wet hair. "I wanted to see if you had a sketchbook. Chloe said you draw, and I've been wanting to ask you about the art club but I didn't know how to—"

"Wait." Maya blinked. "You wanted to see my sketches?"

"Yeah?" Leo looked at her like she was the one being weird. "That dragon mural in the art hallway? That was you, right? It's sick."

Maya stood there, clutching her towel, realizing something: she'd been so busy worrying about fitting in, she hadn't noticed someone trying to see her.

"Yeah," she said, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "That was me."

"Cool." Leo's grin returned. "So, you coming in? The water's fine."

Maybe, just maybe, Maya thought as she dropped her towel on the chair, it would be.