Poolside Sphinx

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, clutching her towel like a safety net. The **swimming** party was in full swing—literally—and she was still dry. Typical.

Across the pool, Jordan held court. Maya's friends called him The **Bull** because he plowed through social situations with zero hesitation, leaving everyone either charmed or flattened. Right now he was doing that hair-flip thing that made half the sophomore class simp openly.

"You gonna stand there all night or actually get in?"

Maya jumped. Riley had materialized beside her, all effortless cool in a bikini that cost more than Maya's entire wardrobe.

"I'm thinking about it," Maya lied. She was absolutely not thinking about it. She was thinking about how the pool lights made everyone look like they were in a music video except her, who felt like a **goldfish** in one of those plastic bags from the fair—temporary, out of place, probably not gonna make it.

"You're overthinking again." Riley adjusted her sunglasses. "It's just water. What's the worst that happens?"

"Everyone laughs at my one-piece?" Maya gestured to her suit. "Who wears competitive swim gear to a party?"

"People who actually know how to swim?" Riley shrugged. "Jordan's been doing that fake-drowning-rescue act all night. It's giving major 'look at me' energy."

Maya glanced at Jordan, who was currently dramatically 'saving' some freshman from the 'deep end.' Okay, yeah. That was cringe.

"Besides," Riley lowered her voice, "that's why I came over. Chelsea's been asking about you."

Chelsea. The girl who sat behind her in history, who always smelled like vanilla and had this half-smile that made Maya forget how to words. She was basically a human **sphinx**—all mystery and impossible questions, mostly because Maya couldn't figure out if Chelsea was flirting or just really friendly.

"Asking what?" Maya's voice cracked.

"Asking why you're not swimming." Riley smirked. "So you gonna let Jordan act like he owns the water, or you gonna show them how it's done?"

Maya looked at the pool. The lights reflected off the surface like stars. Chelsea was watching from the other side, phone down, head tilted.

Sphinx riddle solved.

"Watch this," Maya said.

She dropped her towel, dove in, and didn't come up until she'd touched the other side. The Bull's dramatic rescue attempts suddenly seemed a lot less interesting. Maya broke the surface grinning, and somewhere across the pool, Chelsea smiled back.

Some goldfish weren't meant to stay in the bag.