Pool Party Protocol

Maya's vintage snapback—her literal armor—sat crooked on her head as she hovered at the edge of Chloe's pool party. The water sparkled with that threatening invitation everyone else seemed to read as 'fun' but Maya's brain translated to 'social suicide waiting to happen.'

"You coming in or what?" Jason called, splashing dramatically. Everyone laughed. Maya adjusted her hat, fingers trembling.

Then chaos arrived in the form of Buster, Chloe's golden retriever, who clearly missed the memo about party etiquette. The dog zoomed past Maya, soaking wet from a previous dip, and—before anyone could process what was happening—snatched her beloved hat right off her head.

"BUSTER, NO!" Chloe screamed.

The dog stood triumphantly at the pool's edge, snapback clenched in his jaws like a prize, tail wagging with chaotic energy. Then, with a look that Maya swore was pure malice, he tossed the hat into the water.

Silence. Then laughter. But not mean laughter.

"Bro, that's legendary," Jason said, grinning. "Your hat just got owned by a dog."

Maya stared at her floating snapback, something bubbling in her chest—not humiliation, not exactly. Something warmer. She kicked off her flip-flops.

"Oh, it's ON."

She cannonballed into the pool, hat in her sights. Water everywhere. Chloe's dog barking like he'd won the lottery. When Maya surfaced, snapback dripping and ruined beyond repair, everyone was cheering like she'd just saved the world.

"Hat's toasted," Jason said later as they sat on the deck, Maya wringing out her hair.

"Yeah." She surprised herself by smiling. "Worth it, though."

"Next time, maybe leave the hat inside."

"No way." Maya laughed. "Now I need a new one. Something with more character. Maybe with claw marks."

Jason shook his head, but he was smiling too. "You're weird, Maya."

"Weirdly awesome?"

"Sure. Let's go with that."

And for the first time in forever, Maya's scalp felt light without her armor, and she didn't even care.