Poolside Truth or Dare

The chlorine hit Maya's nose before she even saw the water. Jordan's pool parties were legendary — mostly because his parents were never home and somehow never noticed the 50 teenagers who showed up every Friday. Maya adjusted her bikini top, feeling exposed even though everyone else looked completely confident.

"You coming in or what?" Tyler called from the deep end, splashing water her way.

Maya hesitated. She'd been swimming since she was five, but suddenly her limbs felt heavy. The social dynamics of poolside lounging were exhausting — who sat next to whom, who claimed the best lounge chairs, who dared to jump from the roof.

"I'm good," she lied, dropping her towel on a plastic chair.

That's when she saw him. Cody, the new kid from Oregon, standing awkwardly by the snack table with a red solo cup like it contained radioactive waste. His expression screamed "get me out of here" in a way that made Maya's chest tight with recognition.

She grabbed two sodas from the cooler and made her way over.

"You look like you're about to face a bull in a china shop," she said, holding out a soda.

Cody's shoulders dropped three inches. "Is it that obvious? I'm terrible at... this."

"Same," Maya admitted. "I've been pretending to check nonexistent texts for twenty minutes."

Their laughter carried over the music. They spent the next hour by the snack table, talking about everything from their weird English teacher to Cody's old life in Oregon. When someone finally yelled "CANNONBALL!" and water crashed over the patio, Maya grabbed Cody's hand.

"Wanna get out of here? There's a Dairy Queen down the street."

Cody's relieved grin said everything. They left their sodas behind, still half-full, and walked toward freedom while behind them, the pool party continued without them — loud and overwhelming and perfect for everyone else.

Maya didn't look back once.