Pool Party Protocol

The cable dangled precariously over the edge of the diving board, Maya's lifeline to civilization. 2% battery. She had maybe ten minutes before her social life officially ended.

"You gonna stare at your phone all day or actually jump?" Tony called from the pool, doing that thing where he splashed water just to be annoying. The pool party was supposed to be *the* event of the summer, but so far Maya had spent three hours wedged between a cooler and someone's weird uncle.

"I'm coming," she muttered, shoving her phone under her towel. The charging cable had already fallen twice. Her dad's spares were garbage.

"What's up with her?" she heard Sierra whisper. "She's being so weird lately."

Maya's stomach did that familiar twist. Since starting high school, everything felt different—like she'd missed some crucial meeting where everyone else got the handbook on being normal. Sierra had been her best friend since sixth grade, but now Sierra was hanging with the popular crowd, wearing different clothes, talking about people Maya didn't know.

Then it happened. Mr. Henderson's prize-winning bull escaped from the adjacent pasture. The massive animal lumbered through the backyard fence, sending punch bowls flying and teenagers scrambling toward the house.

But Maya? She saw the charging cable about to slide into the pool.

Something in her just snapped. No more missing moments, no more watching from the sidelines. She launched herself over the diving board, snatching the cable mid-air before cannonballing into the pool. The perfect splash drenched everyone—including Sierra, who stood frozen by the edge.

When Maya surfaced, hair plastered to her face, cable triumphantly raised like a flag, everyone was staring. Then Tony started clapping. Slowly, others joined in. Sierra was laughing, actually laughing, and reached down to pull Maya up.

"Okay, that was actually pretty badass," Sierra said. "We're getting boba later. You're coming."

Maya grinned, dripping and chaotic, feeling like maybe—just maybe—she was finally figuring out this whole being a teenager thing. Who knew it would take a escaped bull to do it?