Pool Party Protocol

The pool party at Maya's house was supposed to be the social event of the semester, but I was currently standing next to the sliding glass door, clutching a red plastic cup like it was my only lifeline. The water in the pool glowed an artificial blue from the underwater lights, reflecting everyone's Instagram-perfect poses. I, on the other hand, was wearing a t-shirt over my swimsuit because my mom had insisted the new bikini was "too grown-up" and honestly? She wasn't wrong.

"You gonna swim or just stand there looking like a security guard?" Jordan appeared beside me, grinning. He was Maya's older brother, home from college, and objectively the most beautiful human I'd ever seen in my sixteen years of existence.

"I'm observing," I said, trying to sound casual. "It's called social research."

"Right." He laughed. "Hey, wanna see something cool?"

Before I could answer, he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the house, past the kitchen where someone had set up a carnival-style goldfish game. The tiny fish were swimming in circles in their temporary bowls, completely unaware they were props in someone's TikTok content.

Jordan led me to the garage, where he had this insane setup — a massive glass tank with LED lights that made the whole thing glow purple. "I breed these rare ones," he said, gesturing to a fish that shimmered like liquid gold. "Won't a competition last year."

"Wow," I breathed. And then, because I'm incapable of being cool around attractive people: "So you're, like, a goldfish guy?"

"Only the cool ones," he said, his eyes meeting mine in the purple glow. And that's when it happened — this moment of pure lightning, like the universe had suddenly decided to align all its stars and planets just to make my heart do something genuinely concerning.

"Jordan! Maya needs you!" someone yelled from outside.

He squeezed my hand before letting go. "Later?"

"Later," I agreed, and I knew my face was doing something incredibly uncool.

Back at the party, the pool still glowed blue and people still posed, but something had shifted. I took off my t-shirt, grabbed a pool noodle, and actually jumped in. Sometimes you have to dive into the deep end before you realize you were never really drowning at all.