Poolside Architecture

Maya stood at the edge of the **pool**, clutching her towel like a shield. The invitation to Jake's party had been unexpected — Jake, who sat two rows ahead in homeroom and whose smile made her stomach do weird little flips. She'd spent forty minutes on her eyeliner, only to have it practically melt off in the humidity. Classic.

"Maya! You made it!" Jake called from the water, droplets clinging to his shoulders like diamonds. "We're doing human pyramids! Get in here!"

Human **pyramids**. Because apparently high school wasn't enough of a pyramid scheme already.

She eased into the pool, the water shocking her skin. Someone had brought a massive bowl of **orange** slices — Caleb's contribution, naturally. He'd been going on about "the perfect pool snack" all week on his Instagram stories. The oranges floated weirdly in the bowl, like little suns caught in a plastic universe.

"Maya's in the middle!" Jake decided. "She's the core — literally."

Ha. Maya Core. Sounded like a forgotten 2000s emo band.

She found herself positioned between Chloe's shoulder blades and Jake's surprisingly solid back, their arms locked together, trembling. Water dripped down everyone's arms. This pyramid felt absurd and wonderful and completely unstable.

"On three!" Chloe shouted. "One, two—"

Caleb, distracted by an especially perfect orange slice, caught his foot on the pool ladder. The entire structure collapsed into chaos, limbs everywhere, and Maya went under, bubbles rising like tiny silver laughter.

When she surfaced, sputtering, Jake was grinning right in front of her. Orange slices bobbed around them like confused goldfish. The pyramid was gone.

"You okay?" he asked. "You went down pretty hard."

And for some ridiculous reason, Maya started laughing. She couldn't stop. Everyone joined in — even Caleb, still clutching his orange slice. The water felt warmer somehow, the humidity less oppressive.

Later, Jake passed her an orange slice. His fingers brushed hers, and Maya felt something spark through her chest that had nothing to do with static electricity.

"Hey," he said, "you're actually kind of fun. You should come to more of these."

Maya took a bite of the orange, juice dripping down her chin, totally ungraceful. She didn't even care.

"Yeah," she said. "I think I will."

The pyramid had fallen, but Maya had finally learned to float.