Riddle at the Pool Party

I was literally running away from Kai Hamilton's pool party before I even got through the front door. Social anxiety, 1. Maya's dignity, 0.

But then I heard it—a yelp from behind the shed.

That's how I found the dog. Not some cute Instagram-puppy, but a scrawny, terrified stray tangled in the landscaping net. Its eyes screamed HELP ME in all caps, and suddenly my own problems felt super small.

"Got you," I whispered, working the net loose with shaking fingers. "You're good now."

The dog—let's call her Chaos—bolted straight toward the party. I scrambled after her, burst through the backyard gate, and BAM. Forty people frozen mid-conversation. Kai holding a wet baseball. Chaos doing zoomies around the pool.

"That's... my dog?" I said, because apparently my brain had left the chat.

Kai's eyes lit up. "No way! You FOUND her?"

Wait. WHAT.

Turns out Kai's dog had escaped two days ago. His phone was dead, he hadn't posted about it, and somehow—some insane way—I'd randomly stumbled upon the missing golden retriever that literally everyone in school had been looking for.

The sphinx moth hovering near the porch light caught my attention. "What did you just call me?"

"The Dog Detective," Kai said, like it was obvious. "You literally just solved the biggest mystery of junior year."

Someone shouted, "DOG DETECTIVE IN THE HOUSE!" and suddenly I was being high-fived by the popular kids, handed an illegal (fine, parent-approved) beer-free water bottle, and pulled into the pool's shallow end—shoes and all—because THAT'S what heroes do apparently.

Later, when the chaos settled, Kai found me sitting on the diving board, feet dangling in the water.

"I thought you weren't coming," he said softly.

"I wasn't. Then I did. Then I almost didn't. Then... dog happened."

He laughed. "I'm glad you did. I was going to ask you to play baseball, but you kind of outdid yourself."

My face burned. "I don't even LIKE baseball. I just really, really like not letting innocent puppies die."

"Noted." Kai sat beside me. "Same time next Friday? I'm thinking we let Dog Detective choose the adventure."

"Maya," I said. "My name's Maya. And... yeah. I think I can work that into my schedule."

The sphinx moth drifted into the night, and for the first time since freshman year started, I wasn't running anymore.