Poolside Surveillance

My phone buzzed with another Instagram story from Maya's pool party — sixth one tonight. I sat on my rooftop, my cat Loki weaving between my legs like he knew I was spiraling. Below, distant splashes and laughter floated up from her backyard, three houses down.

"You're not spying, you're gathering intel," I muttered, but even I didn't believe it.

Three weeks ago, Maya and I had been inseparable. Now she was swimming in a different circle — literally. The popular crowd. The ones who made everything look effortless, who posted aesthetic photos with perfect lighting and captioned everything with "living my best life."

My palms sweat against the phone case. I shouldn't care. But I did.

Loki head-butted my chin, purring like a tiny engine. "At least someone still likes me," I sighed, scratching behind his ears.

Then my phone lit up again. Not Maya's story. A direct message.

*hey. why aren't you here?*

I stared at it. Was this a joke? Some prank where they'd all laugh when I showed up in my Target swimsuit while they wore designer everything?

*seriously. it's not the same without my buffer friend,* she added. *sarah keeps trying to take selfies and i don't have the energy. please come buffer me.*

Buffer. Friend. Not replacement.

I grabbed my swimsuit from where it'd been gathering dust on my dresser. "Loki, I'm going on a mission," I announced, like this was some spy op and not just showing up to a party where I felt like an imoster.

The walk to Maya's house felt endless. Every step was a debate — turn back vs. keep going. But when I rounded the corner and saw the inflatable palm tree bobbing in her pool, heard the music and the genuine sound of Maya's real laugh (not her polite one), I kept going.

Maya spotted me first. She didn't wave awkwardly or freeze. She just pushed through the water toward the ladder, dripping and gorgeous and smiling like she'd been waiting. "Finally. Save me from small talk hell."

"I brought backup," I said, gesturing to myself like an idiot.

"You're the only backup I need," she said, and the way she said it made my chest ache in the best way.

I jumped in, clothes and all, because that felt easier than changing by myself in her bathroom while everyone waited. The shock of cool water against my skin was perfect. Real. When I surfaced, Maya was laughing.

"You're ridiculous," she said. "I missed that."