Poolside Catastrophe

The chlorine smell hit Maya before she even saw the water. Another summer as a pool monitor at the Pinecrest Community Center. At least she'd requested the late shift—fewer kids, more peace.

"Yo, Maya!"

Chloe. The friend who'd been ghosting her since she joined the popular crowd. Maya waved awkwardly.

"Are you coming to Jessica's party?" Chloe called from her lounge chair, surrounded by girls Maya had called friends last year. "Everyone's gonna be there."

Maya's stomach did that familiar twist. "Working."

"Lame." Chloe turned back to her friends.

That's when she saw it—a cat pacing along the pool fence, looking ridiculous. A gray tabby with one ear that wouldn't stand up. It kept meowing at the water like it held personal grudges against chlorination.

"What are you doing out here?" Maya approached slowly. The cat didn't run. Instead, it head-butted her leg like they'd known each other for years.

"You're weirdly friendly."

"That's not your cat, is it?" A voice behind her.

Maya jumped. It was the new guy—River, from her history class. The one who sat in back and drew in his notebook all period.

"No. Just found it."

River squatted down, and the cat immediately abandoned Maya for him. Figures.

"He's hungry," River said, scratching behind the cat's ears. "Probably wandered from the apartments behind us. My aunt's the property manager. I've seen him around."

They sat there for twenty minutes—just them, this random cat, and the distant sounds of the popular kids laughing while Chloe performed her best impression of someone who'd never worked a day in her life.

"You coming to the party?" River asked suddenly.

"Which party?"

"Jessica's. Everyone's talking about it."

"Are you?"

River shrugged. "Not really my scene. But I heard there's gonna be a pool."

Maya looked at the cat, now asleep in River's lap. The water shimmered in the late afternoon light. Something shifted inside her—lighter, easier.

"I think I'd rather hang out with you and this cat."

"Bet." River grinned. "There's a kitten behind the apartments too. His mom's feral, but he's chill with people. We could go see him."

"After my shift."

"Cool."

Chloe waved as she left, surrounded by her new friends. Maya waved back, but the twist in her stomach was gone. Some friendships were seasons. Others were just beginning.

The cat purred like a tiny engine in River's lap. The pool ripled in the breeze. Everything was exactly the same, but nothing was at all.