Poolside Lightning

I was officially the worst spy in history. Leaning against the concession stand at Tyler's pool party, I'd been "casually" watching Maya float in the water for twenty minutes too long. My best friend Kai texted: *bro just talk to her or delete the finsta*

I'd already failed twice today. First, my mom forced me to take these gummy vitamins before leaving, claiming they'd help with "growing pains." Whatever that meant. Second, the hair dye disaster. I'd gone for midnight blue, woke up with what Kai called "Sasquatch having an existential crisis." Now I was hiding under a baseball cap.

Then the sky opened up.

One crack of lightning later, everyone scrambled inside. Maya grabbed her phone but left her towel on the lounge chair. I grabbed it, thinking: this is my chance to be smooth, return it like a normal human.

"Hey," I said, holding it out in the kitchen. "You forgot this."

She looked up from her phone, hair dripping wet. "Oh! Thanks. You're Jordan, right?"

"Yeah. Jordan. That's me."

**Cringe.**

"I like your hair," she said.

"This?" I touched the cap.

"No, the blue. I saw it earlier. It's sick."

I slowly took off the cap. Maya grinned, and something in my chest did that thing where it feels like you're underwater but in a good way.

"My cousin does hair," she said. "She could fix the uneven parts if you want."

"Actually," I said, feeling bold, "I was thinking about going brighter. Electric blue."

"Lightning blue," she said.

"Exactly."

She laughed, and I swear the room got brighter than any storm could make it.

"Here," she said, pulling a bottle from her bag. "My mom makes me take these. Hair vitamins. They actually work."

I took them. "Trade you for my gummy ones?"

"Deal."

Later that night, lying in bed and texting Maya about our hair appointment, I realized something: Sometimes the worst spy ends up finding exactly what they weren't looking for. And maybe growing pains aren't so bad when someone's there to grow through them with you.

Also, Sasquatch blue was growing on me.