Poolside Pyramids

Maya gripped the pool's edge, chlorine stinging her eyes. The filter hummed somewhere beneath her, like the anxiety in her chest.

"You coming in or what?" Jenna called from the diving board. Jenna, who sat at the top of the social pyramid at Westwood High, surrounded by friends who followed her every move like orbiting moons.

Maya's _dog_ Buster raced around the pool's perimeter, barking at splashes. Her aunt had made her bring him—he needed supervision, apparently. Perfect timing for Maya to crash Jenna's end-of-summer pool party.

"Yeah, one sec." Maya adjusted her bikini top, feeling exposed. The pool stretched before her like a social minefield. At the shallow end: the freshmen, practically infants. The middle zone: normal people, laughing, existing without the crushing weight of visibility. And at the deep end—the deep _pyramid_ tier—Jenna and her squad, looking effortlessly perfect in designer swimsuits.

Buster chose that moment to shake himself dry, spraying water across three of Jenna's friends.

"Oh my GOD, Maya!" Jenna shrieked. "Control your dog."

Something in Maya snapped. Maybe it was the way everyone stared, or the endless months of navigating Westwood's invisible hierarchies, or just Buster's goofy, unashamed grin.

"He's a dog, Jenna," Maya said, voice steadier than she felt. "That's what dogs do."

The pool went quiet. Buster padded over and sat beside her like a furry, battle-scarred veteran.

"Whatever." Jenna flipped wet hair over one shoulder. "You're weird anyway."

"Weird like actually caring about stuff?" Maya continued, surprising herself. "Weird like volunteering at the shelter instead of posting about it? Weird like—"

Buster barked, as if on cue. Someone giggled. Then someone else. Soon, half the pool was laughing, and not at Maya this time.

"Okay, fair," one of Jenna's friends admitted. "Buster's kinda cute though."

Jenna's face darkened. Maya realized with a jolt: pyramids could crumble.

She dove into the pool, cool water embracing her like a revelation. Sometimes you had to sink before you could figure out how to swim.