Poolside Courage

The pool shimmered like liquid diamond, but Maya stood frozen at the edge, her oversized hat pulled low over her eyes. This was supposed to be the party of the summer, but she felt like she'd stumbled into the wrong movie.

"Yo, Maya! You gonna stand there all day or actually get in?" Jake called from the water, grinning that annoyingly perfect grin that made half the sophomore class weak in the knees.

She shrugged, adjusting her hat. "Just enjoying the vibe from back here. Quality spectator sport."

Her dog Buster had been way easier to deal with this morning. When she'd been spiraling about this party, he'd just thumped his tail against her leg like, *Chill, human. You got this.* Why couldn't humans be that simple?

She fished a vitamin gummy from her pocket — mom's way of making sure she didn't get sick during "high stress social situations." The chewable vitamin C burst on her tongue, tart and artificially sweet. An excuse to step away for a second.

Maya drifted toward the snack table, mentally calculating how much longer she needed to stay before she could bail without looking totally lame. Her cat Mittens would be unimpressed by all of this. Mittens didn't do social performances. Mittens just existed, and somehow everyone respected her for it. What was that about?

"Nice hat," someone said behind her.

She turned to find Sofia, the girl who sat behind her in English, holding two sodas. "Yeah, well. Sun protection, right?"

Sofia laughed. "Totally. But you know, you're kinda hiding under there. Just saying."

Something about the way Sofia said it — not mean, just observant — made Maya pause. Since when did she become someone who hid? Since when did she let a party dictate her worth?

Her fingers brushed the brim of her hat. And then, with a breath that felt like the first real one she'd taken all afternoon, she pulled it off.

"You're right," Maya said, surprised by her own voice. "I am hiding. And that's stupid."

Sofia's eyebrows raised. "Bold move. Respect."

"Watch this." Maya dropped the hat on a lawn chair and marched toward the pool. "JAKE!" she yelled. "Save me a spot or I'm doing a cannonball right next to you!"

As she hit the water, hat abandoned and heart racing, she thought: maybe that's what growing up felt like. Not becoming someone else, but finally having the guts to be who you'd been all along.

Also, she was definitely texting Mittens's picture to Jake later. Let him see what real confidence looked like.