Poolside Fox

The moment I stepped onto the patio deck, I knew I'd made a mistake. It was Tyler's annual end-of-summer **pool** party, and suddenly everyone was staring at me. Or at least, at what I was wearing.

My mom had insisted on the oversized sun **hat**, claiming it would "protect my delicate skin." She'd also packed extra sunscreen, as if I were still five years old instead of fifteen. But I'd worn it anyway, because saying no to Mom meant having The Conversation about how I'm "growing up too fast."

"Nice hat, Maya," Tyler called out, his voice dripping with that special brand of sarcasm only popular guys can pull off. His friends laughed. I felt my face burn hotter than the asphalt.

Then I saw her. Riley **Fox**. She'd transferred to our school last month and already owned half the social hierarchy. She was sitting on the diving board, wearing this vintage denim jacket over her swimsuit like it was completely normal. Everything about her screamed I don't care what you think, which of course made everyone think she was cool.

Riley caught my eye and actually grinned. Not laughed at me—grinned.

"Love the hat," she said, sliding off the diving board. "It's giving old Hollywood vibes. Very dramatic."

Before I could respond, Josh materialized next to me. Josh, who'd been my lab partner all year and never once mentioned he was Tyler's cousin. Josh, who I'd accidentally told about my crush on Tyler last week during our bio project.

"Hey Maya," he said, then lowered his voice. "Tyler's been talking **bull** about you. Saying you only come to these things for the free food."

I stared at him. "Why are you telling me this?"

Josh shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Because it's not true. You're actually... I don't know. Different from what he says."

Riley appeared beside us, handing me a soda. "What's the drama?"

"Just Josh being a decent human being," I said, feeling something shift inside me. Maybe the hat wasn't so ridiculous after all. Maybe I didn't have to shrink to fit into Tyler's world.

"Wanna get in the pool?" Riley asked. "Before Josh here spontaneously combusts from trying to be helpful?"

I took off the hat and handed it to Josh. "Hold this. I've got swimming to do."

For the first time all summer, I wasn't worried about who was watching. The water was perfect, and somewhere behind me, I heard Riley laughing like she meant it.