Poolside Operations

The pool at Jason's house shimmered like liquid diamonds, which sounded poetic until you remembered Jason's dad was a dentist and the water was practically chlorine-flavored. I hovered near the snack table, clutching a cup of lukewarm fruit punch like it was a lifeline. My best friend Riley had ditched me approximately thirty seconds after we arrived because *omg Tyler from math class was in the deep end.*

So here I was, seventeen years old and fundamentally incapable of just jumping into a pool party like a normal human being. Instead, I'd appointed myself unofficial lookout, scanning the area with the intensity of a spy on a covert mission. My target: Maya, who I'd been lowkey obsessed with since she'd complimented my dystopia short story in English last month.

She was by the papaya. Someone's mom had brought this "exotic fruit platter" and Maya was actually eating it, which was somehow the most Maya thing ever. She didn't care that everyone else was grabbing chips or pretending fruit wasn't there. She just did her thing.

My phone buzzed. Riley: *r u gonna talk to her or just stare like a creep*

I typed back: *this is reconnaissance*

Then, disaster struck. Maya turned, caught my gaze, and waved me over. My brain short-circuited. I managed a supremely awkward smile and started toward her, but my flip-flop had other plans. It caught on the concrete, and suddenly I was airborne, trajectory aimed directly at the very papaya platter Maya was standing beside.

I didn't fall in the water. I didn't even hit the fruit. But Maya—quick-thinking, softball-team-captain Maya—caught my arm, steadying me, and burst out laughing. "Nice save,"

"My entire life is a series of near-death experiences involving fruit," I said, and she laughed harder. We ended up sitting poolside, feet in the water, talking about dystopian novels and why papaya tastes like "your grandma's perfume but make it tropical" until Jason's mom called everyone for pizza.

Sometimes the best spy missions are the ones where you forget you're supposed to be watching and just start living.