Poolside Surveillance

I felt like a total spy, crouched behind the lounge chair with my phone camera at the ready. My target: Carter Evans, junior god, currently doing laps in the deep end like he owned the place. The backyard pool party was in full swing—so to speak—with half the junior class either Instagramming their perfectly positioned snacks or pretending they actually knew how to play beer pong with, like, sparkling cider.

My labrador retriever, Buster, had already embarrassed me twice by shaking his wet fur all over Maya's designer sundress. Now he was currently engaged in a standoff with Mrs. Chen's prize-winning Persian cat, who had somehow wandered in through the open gate and was perched on the diving board like it was a throne. The cat's name was literally Princess, which was honestly so on brand.

"You're not doing a great job at being subtle," said Sasha, dropping onto the chair next to me. She'd been my best friend since seventh grade, which meant she knew exactly why I was acting like a creepy stalker instead of actually, you know, enjoying the party.

"I'm not spying," I lied. "I'm observing. There's a difference."

"You've been 'observing' Carter for forty-five minutes," she said, making finger quotes. "Just go talk to him already. Or at least stop hiding behind your dog."

Buster chose that moment to abandon the cat standoff and bolt toward the pool, executing a spectacular cannonball that landed approximately two feet from Carter. The splash was epic. Carter surfaced, laughing, and something about the way he pushed his wet hair back made my stomach do that annoying flip-flop thing.

"Your dog is iconic," Carter called out, grinning at me.

"That's one word for it," I managed, my voice sounding weirdly small.

He swam over to the edge where I stood, dripping pool water all over the concrete. "You coming in or what?"

Sasha pushed me. Like, literally shoved me.

I hit the water fully clothed—phone, shoes, dignity, everything. The shock of cold was ridiculous, but when I surfaced, sputtering and wiping chlorine from my eyes, Carter was still laughing.

"Finally," he said. "I was wondering when you'd join the party."

Buster barked from poolside. The cat watched from the diving board, judging everyone. And somewhere in the chaos, I realized maybe high school wasn't about being the spy on the sidelines. Maybe it was about getting in the pool, shoes and all.