Poolside Confidence

Maya's mom shoved the bottle at her before school. 'You need this vitamin D supplement. You're inside too much, always scrolling.' Maya rolled her eyes but pocketed the orange pills, because arguing took energy she didn't have.

The real problem wasn't vitamins. It was swim class. Freshman year. Gym class. The universal nightmare where everyone pretended not to look while absolutely looking.

She'd been avoiding it for three weeks, claiming 'female problems' until the gym teacher actually called her mom. Now she was cornered, standing at the pool's edge in her one-piece, feeling like she'd shrink into nothing if anyone stared too long.

'Hurry up, Maya!' someone yelled. Of course it was Kyle, whose abs looked like he chiseled them in his free time.

Her phone buzzed in her locker—vitamin reminder. Because her phone judged her now too.

Then she saw Lily, the quiet girl from bio, sitting alone on the bleachers. 'Forgot my suit,' Lily shrugged. 'Wanna skip?'

Skip? The word hung there. Maya had never skipped anything. She was the girl who did extra credit.

'Sure,' Maya said, and they slipped out the side door, sitting on the concrete in the sun.

Lily pulled an orange from her backpack. 'Want half?'

They split it, peeling the skin, sticky juice on their fingers. Lily talked about how she used to be a competitive swimmer until she quit because her dad pushed too hard. Maya talked about how she hated everything about being 14, especially how she was supposed to be confident but mostly just wanted to disappear.

'Maybe we need different vitamins,' Lily said. 'Like, confidence vitamins.'

'Maybe we just need to stop caring what Kyle thinks,' Maya said.

'That too.'

They didn't go back to class. They sat there until the bell rang, eating orange segments and laughing about how they'd probably get detention but it was worth it.

Sometimes the best thing for you isn't a pill or perfect attendance. It's just someone who gets it, sitting in the sun with sticky fingers and zero plans to swim.