Poolside Surveillance

I became a professional spy that summer, though my only mission was figuring out if Maya actually liked me back. My surveillance equipment consisted of strategically positioned lounge chairs and oversized sunglasses that made me look like a celebrity trying too hard to avoid paparazzi.

The community pool was my battlefield, and I was winning. From my tactical position behind the vending machine, I'd catalog Maya's movements: the way she adjusted her goggles exactly three times before diving, how she always chose the lane farthest from the diving board, her signature move of surfacing with this dramatic whoosh of water that somehow made everything else fade.

"You're being creepy again," Jordan said, appearing beside me with their usual impeccable timing. Jordan had been my best friend since kindergarten and took every opportunity to remind me that my game was weak.

"I'm not being creepy. I'm being observant. There's a difference."

"Bro, you've been staring at her for forty minutes. Your water bottle is empty, you haven't moved, and you're literally hiding behind a vending machine."

Before I could defend my stakeout techniques, Maya emerged from the pool, water droplets racing down her arms like they were in a hurry to get somewhere important. She pulled off her goggles and started walking in our direction, and suddenly my spy training vanished.

"Hey," she said, pulling papaya chunks from a Tupperware container. "My mom made me bring this healthy stuff. Want some? Nobody else will touch it."

I stared at the orange cubes. "Papaya? Seriously?"

"What? It's good. Try it."

I took a piece. It wasn't terrible, which was disappointing because I wanted to hate it so I could make some joke about how we clearly had nothing in common. Instead, it was sweet and strange and I didn't mind it.

"So," Maya said, eating another piece, "I noticed you've been watching my swimming practices. You trying to learn something?"

Jordan died laughing somewhere behind me.

"I wasn't—"

"It's okay. I'm working on my freestyle. You could use some pointers." She grinned, and it was like someone turned up the brightness on the whole pool deck. "Tomorrow. Same time. Bring your own fruit though. This papaya stuff is pricey."