Poolside Riddle

Maya's purple hair was already frizzing at the edges, and she'd only been at Jessica's pool party for twelve minutes. Worst. Idea. Ever.

"Hey, new girl," some sophomore called out, floating on one of those ridiculous inflatable unicorns. "You gonna stand there all day or actually get wet?"

Maya gripped her towel tighter. Second day at a new school, and somehow she'd already been invited—or whatever the opposite of invited was—to the popular crowd's Friday pool hang. Her mom had practically pushed her out the door. "You'll make friends! Just put yourself out there!"

Yeah. Putting herself out there. That was going swimmingly.

She took a deep breath and approached the pool's edge, where Jessica—queen bee, varsity swim team captain, human embodiment of everything Maya wasn't—was holding court.

"So," Jessica said, flicking her perfect blonde hair over one shoulder. "Entry fee's a riddle."

"A what?" Maya blinked.

"A riddle. Like the sphinx." Jessica grinned. "You know, the creature that ate people who couldn't solve its puzzles? Team bonding, initiated by yours truly last summer."

Oh, Maya thought. This was definitely hazing. But also weirdly specific?

"Fine," she said, surprising herself. "Hit me."

"What has fins but can't swim, lives in water but never gets wet, and has the shortest memory in the world?"

The group went silent. Maya's brain raced. Fins, water, memory—

"A goldfish," she said without thinking.

Jessica's eyebrows shot up. "Okay, not bad. Most people take three tries." She gestured to the pool. "You're in."

And just like that, Maya was cannonballing into the deep end, chlorine stinging her eyes, surrounded by laughter and splashing and the most terrifyingly normal social interaction she'd had in years.

Later, floating on her back and staring at the first stars appearing above Jessica's perfectly manicured backyard, Maya realized something: she'd been treating high school like it was some sort of test she had to pass alone. But the real bull—the thing that had been charging through her mind with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop—was that nobody else knew what they were doing either.

"Your hair looks cool," someone said beside her. It was the sophomore from the unicorn. "I'm Tyler, by the way."

Maya smiled. "Maya. And thanks. It's supposed to be purple, but the humidity's absolutely murdering it today."

"Nah," Tyler said. "It's working." He held up a fist for a bump. "Welcome to the chaos, Maya."