Poolside fox

The first day of junior year, Maya's palms were sweating so much she could barely grip her phone.Standing at the edge of Jackson Carter's inground pool, she felt like everyone was staring at her new orange bikini – actually from Target, but still somehow feeling too loud.

"You gonna swim or just stand there looking like a lost fox?" Jackson called out, laughing with his friends. Everyone chuckled. Maya's face burned. She'd been crushing on Jackson since seventh grade, and here she was, being roasted in front of half the sophomore class.

The pool glittered blue and tempting, but Maya's throat felt tight. She'd barely worn a swimsuit since middle school, when someone commented on her "chicken legs" at summer camp. Now here she was, fifteen and still overthinking everything.

Her phone buzzed. Emma, her best friend since kindergarten: *just jump in already. literally nobody cares what you look like. also jackson is lowkey cute when he's not being a tool.*

Maya snorted, then took a deep breath. Fine. Whatever.

She bolted toward the water, closed her eyes, and cannonballed in.

The shock of cold water swallowed her whole. When she surfaced, spluttering and wiping chlorine from her eyes, everyone was actually cheering. Jackson floated nearby, grinning.

"Finally! What took you so long?"

"Building suspense," Maya shot back, surprising herself.

He laughed – actually laughed, not mocked. "Well played, fox. Well played."

As she floated on her back, staring up at the palm tree swaying against the sky, Maya felt something shift. The water held her up. The orange bikini was just fabric. Jackson was just a guy.

She kicked toward the deep end, leaving the anxious version of herself behind on the concrete. Summer wasn't over yet, and somehow, incredibly, she was finally swimming.