Poolside Politics

The chlorine smell hit Maya first. Then she saw it—the human pyramid forming in the deep end. Jake, the swim team captain, stood at the top, his stupid perfect hair somehow still gravity-defying. Below him, three tiers of popular kids supported his weight like he was some kind of Greek god and they were his devoted followers.

Maya stood at the pool's edge wearing her mismatched bikini (Target top, Old Navy bottoms—don't judge) and considered her options. Option A: Fake a text and bolt. Option B: Actually attempt to socialize.

"Yo, Maya!" Jake called from his pyramid throne. "Get in here! We need more base support!"

Maya's freshman brain short-circuited. The hottest guy in school was inviting her into the pyramid. That was supposed to be The Moment. The one where her life transformed into a teen movie montage.

Instead, her brain supplied: *You're about to touch three different peoples' sweaty backs.*

"Nah, I'm good!" she yelled back, but her voice cracked. High school was a special kind of torture.

The pyramid wobbled. Someone screeched.

The whole thing collapsed.

Bodies everywhere. Water displacement like a mini tsunami. Jake surfaced first, spluttering and wiping chlorinated water from his eyes. His perfect hair plastered to his forehead like a wet cat.

Maya snorted. She couldn't help it.

Jake stared at her, then started cracking up. "Okay, that was legitimately the worst pyramid attempt in recorded history."

"Recorded history's a high bar, Jake," she shot back.

"Touché." He sloshed over to the edge. "I'm Jake. And you're Maya, the girl who just watched me humiliate myself in front of half the sophomore class."

"And juniors. Don't forget the juniors judging you from the lounge chairs."

He laughed again. The genuine kind. "Wanna help me execute Operation Recovery?"

"Operation...?"

"We're running recon. Basically, we walk around like nothing happened and pretend we're too cool for pyramids. It's a classic strategic maneuver."

Maya found herself smiling. Maybe high school wouldn't be completely terrible after all.

"I'm in," she said. "But first, you need to fix your hair."