Poolside Prophecies

Lila's palms were sweating against her phone case as she stared at Jake's text: "Pool party. Don't be weird."

Jake, the swim captain whose Instagram was ninety percent shirtless photos, had never spoken to her in AP Bio despite being lab partners for three months. Yet here she was, standing outside his house with generic **vitamin** water she'd grabbed because bringing nothing felt wrong.

The patio was packed. Someone was blasting Doja Cat, and the chlorine smell hit her like a memory. Then she saw Maya Chen, leaning against the pool edge in a bikini that made Lila suddenly aware of her oversized t-shirt. Maya was everything Lila wasn't — loud, confident.

In the corner, an older woman sat reading **palm**s. A plastic sign: "FORTUNE TELLER — $5."

"Lila! You came." Jake materialized, wet hair dripping.

Maya slid over, throwing an arm around Jake's shoulders. "Bestie! You finally invited the smart kids?" She smirked. "Ten bucks says she's here for the palm reader."

Jake shrugged her off. "Shut up, Maya." Then to Lila: "Sorry. She's—"

"A lot?"

"Yeah."

He pulled her toward the fortune teller. "My aunt heard she's legit. Predicted Sam's breakup before it happened."

The woman looked like someone's grandma, but when she took Lila's hand, her expression shifted. "You're carrying something heavy," she said quietly. "You think you need to be someone else to be seen. But—" She traced a line on Lila's palm. "—the right people see you exactly as you are."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, 'you'll meet a tall dark stranger'? Original." She dragged Jake toward the pool. "Jake, I call next on chicken fights!"

Lila stood there, heart hammering. The woman's words echoed.

"Your water." Jake held out her bottle. "You left it."

"Thanks." Their fingers brushed.

"You didn't ask for your fortune," he said.

"Maybe I'm scared."

Jake looked at her, really looked at her. "Or maybe you already know it."

The sun set, gilding the pool **water** in gold. Maya popped up between them, dripping. "Jakey's making moves! He's been talking about you since September. I was wondering when he'd finally—"

Jake shoved her toward the pool, blushing.

Lila stood there as they splashed, laughter wrapping around her. Her palm tingled where the woman had traced that line.

*The right people see you exactly as you are.*

Maybe she was done trying to be someone else.