Poolside Palm Reading

The pool shimmered like liquid blue Jell-O under the July sun, and Maya hovered at the edge, clutching her towel like a security blanket. This was supposed to be the party of the summer, but her best friend since seventh grade, Jax, was currently across the deck, laughing at something Skylar said.

"Hey Earth to Maya," someone said, and she jumped. It was Leo, the quiet boy from chemistry, extending a hand. "You coming in or what?"

She hesitated, then dropped her towel and slid into the cool water. But her eyes kept drifting back to Jax and Skylar—how Skylar's hand brushed Jax's arm, how Jax didn't pull away.

Later, when everyone was sprawled on lounge chairs eating lukewarm pizza, Skylar announced she could read palms. "My cousin taught me, it's totally legit." She grabbed Maya's hand before she could protest. "Ooh, interesting..." Skylar traced the lines on Maya's palm. "You're going to have a major revelation today. Like, something you didn't see coming."

Maya yanked her hand back. "Yeah, okay."

But then she saw it—Jax's phone face up on the table, blown up with Skylar's Instagram DMs. *Can't wait for everyone to leave so we can actually talk.*

The revelation hit like a slap. Jax had been acting weird all week, cancelling plans, being vague. Now she knew why.

"You're sly as a fox, Jax," she said, her voice shaking. "Inviting me here just to ditch me?"

Jax's face went red. "Maya, it's not—"

"Save it." Maya grabbed her stuff, but then something streaked past the patio—a flash of orange fur. A cat, probably someone's pet that got loose, bolted between the lounge chairs and sent Skylar's soda flying, splashing everyone.

Chaos erupted. People were jumping up, laughing, shaking off sticky soda. And in that moment of ridiculous catastrophe, Maya caught Jax's eye. For a second, they both cracked up, remembering the time last summer when a seagull stole Jax's sandwich at the beach.

The cat sat under a bush, watching them all like it had planned the whole thing.

"Okay," Maya said, wiping soda from her arm. "That was actually hilarious."

Jax stepped closer. "Can we talk? Like, actually talk?"

"Yeah." Maya picked up her slice of pizza. "But you're buying me another soda first."