Poolside Intel

I'd been a total idiot, thinking I could play the spy game just to impress some older kids who couldn't care less about me. Now here I was, ninth grade, hiding behind the bleachers at the community pool with spinach in my teeth—actual, literal spinach from the salad I'd nervously shoved in my mouth five minutes ago when I saw Ryan approaching.

Ryan, who I'd maybe sorta definitely had a crush on since seventh grade.

Ryan, who was currently walking toward the water with Sarah Torres, whose Instagram had doubled in followers since she'd dyed her hair pink last month.

"You can come out, you know," said a voice behind me. I jumped so hard I almost tipped over my backpack. A girl with messy orange hair and mischievous blue eyes stood there, arms crossed. Fox—everyone called her Fox because she was clever as hell and impossible to catch doing anything she shouldn't.

"I'm not hiding," I lied badly.

"Sure. That's why you've been lurking behind the bleachers for twenty minutes, looking like you're about to witness a crime instead of whatever boring conversation Ryan and Sarah are probably having." She smirked. "You've got something in your teeth, by the way."

My face burned. I scrubbed at my teeth with my tongue while Fox dropped onto the concrete beside me, dangling her legs over the edge.

"I'm not spying," I protested weakly. "I'm just... observing."

"Spying, observing, tomato tomahto." Fox pulled a bag of pretzels from her pocket. "You know, last year I totally thought Sarah was out of my league. Then we got paired for that bio project and she's actually just nervous as everyone else. Most people are, if you catch them when they think no one's watching."

I looked toward the water, where Ryan and Sarah sat with their feet in the pool, laughing at something. They looked so effortless, so unburdened by the constant overthinking that plagued my every interaction.

"You think he's nervous?" I asked.

"Ryan? Dude practically vibrates with anxiety before every math test. You should see him when he thinks he failed something." Fox handed me a pretzel. "But hey, what do I know? I'm just the expert observer who didn't spend twenty minutes hiding behind bleachers with spinach in her teeth."

I laughed, surprising myself. "Fair point."

"Wanna just go talk to them?" Fox stood up, brushing pretzel crumbs off her shorts. "Worst case, you embarrass yourself for thirty seconds. Best case, you realize they're just people who probably have food in their teeth too sometimes."

I thought about it—really thought about it—while Ryan and Sarah's laughter carried across the water. Then I stood up, checked my teeth in my phone camera, and nodded.

"Yeah. Let's do it."

Fox winked. "That's the spirit, newbie. Operation: Stop Overthinking commenced."