Poolside Protocol

The party was already in full swing when Maya arrived at the Lopez family's pool. She'd spent forty-five minutes perfecting her mascara and convincing herself that yes, she could actually pull off this outfit. But standing at the gate, watching everyone splash around like they'd been best friends since kindergarten, her stomach did that familiar flippy thing it always did when social situations exceeded her mental preparation.

"You coming in or what?" Leo called from the deep end. He was that kind of effortless popular that Maya had spent years observing from a safe distance.

"Just, uh, getting my sunscreen situation handled," Maya called back, even though she wasn't holding any sunscreen.

She spotted Chloe by the snacks table, which was perfect — Chloe was safe.

"Finally!" Chloe said when Maya reached her. "Also, you have a little—" She gestured vaguely at her own teeth.

Maya froze. "Please tell me this is a prank."

"It's spinach," Chloe whispered. "From the sandwich you had on the way here? It's... prominent."

Maya's face burned. OF COURSE she'd managed to miss LITERALLY GREEN VEGETABLE MATTER stuck between her front teeth at the most important party of the summer.

"I'm gonna die," Maya said. "Just bury me beside the pool filter."

Before she could bolt for the bathroom, Jackson Miller — actual Jackson Miller, who Maya had had a low-key crush on since seventh grade — climbed out of the pool and walked toward them.

And he was wearing the hat. The vintage Nike cap Maya had been searching for online for months.

"Hey," Jackson said. "Is this your Spotify playlist? It's actually good."

And then he smiled at her. AT HER. With the spinach still in her teeth.

Maya made a split-second decision. She reached up, snatched Jackson's hat right off his head, and shoved it on her own.

"You have excellent taste in headwear," she said. "I'm borrowing this. It's for the greater good."

Jackson blinked. "Oh. Cool?"

"The GREATER GOOD," Maya repeated, and bee-lined for the bathroom.

She spent seven minutes cleaning her teeth and rehearsing her return. The hat was big enough to cover her eyes, which felt like a tactical advantage.

When she came back out, Jackson was by the diving board. Maya considered faking a family emergency, but then she caught his eye. He was grinning.

"You stole my hat," he called out.

"I'm still judging your music taste," Maya shot back, and then — because she was apparently insane today — she jumped into the pool, hat and all.

The water was shockingly cold. When she surfaced, adjusting the now-soaked hat, Jackson was laughing.

"You know," he said, "you're weirdly confident for someone who just committed grand larceny on my head."

"You have no idea," Maya said.

"Can I join your crime organization?" Leo asked from the edge.

"Only if you admit the playlist is good," Maya said.

"It's fire, actually," Leo admitted.

Maya floated on her back, staring up at the sky through the brim of her stolen hat. She still had no idea what she was doing with her life, but somehow, impossibly, this was working. Maybe the trick wasn't perfect preparation. Maybe the trick was just diving in anyway — spinach, hats, and all.