Poolside Protocol

The hat was doing heavy lifting. Like, serious heavy lifting. Under the brim of Maya's oversized dad cap, I could stare without being *that* guy who stares. Not that I was staring. I was conducting research. Gathering intel. Spy work, basically.

"You're being creepy," Maya said, not looking up from her phone. She'd caught me three times already watching Leo emerge from the pool like some Greek god who'd just discovered chlorine.

"I'm observing social dynamics," I corrected. "For my mental health. It's like a vitamin for my brain."

Maya snorted. "You're gonna crash and burn, Zara."

She wasn't wrong. The pool party was a social minefield, and I was walking through it with visible nerves and a hat that was probably giving me hat hair anyway. Leo laughed at something Sarah said, and my stomach did that awful little flip it did whenever he was within a fifty-foot radius. Sarah, who was effortlessly perfect in a bikini that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Sarah, whose hair didn't frizz in humidity like mine definitely was under this hat.

"Just talk to him," Maya said finally. "Or don't. But stop with the FBI surveillance act."

Easy for her to say. She'd had a boyfriend since seventh grade. I was still recovering from that time in ninth grade when I'd choked on my own spit while introducing myself to someone new.

I took a breath. Adjusted the hat. Walked toward the pool edge where Leo was toweling off.

"Hey, Zara," he said, like he actually knew my name. Like he'd noticed me before today. "Nice hat."

"Thanks," I managed. "It's my anti-social device."

He laughed, and it was this genuine, warm sound that made something in my chest loosen. "Those are useful. I should get one."

"You don't need it," I said, then immediately wanted to die. "I mean—"

"Cool hat," he said again, smiling. "See you in school."

He walked off, and Maya appeared beside me, looking smug.

"You didn't crash," she noted. "Progress."

I touched the brim of my hat. Maybe tomorrow I'd even take it off. Baby steps.