Saltwater Palms

Maya's best friend since seventh grade, Chloe, had been acting weird all summer. Texting back slower. Making plans then 'forgetting.' Maya tried to ignore it, but the knot in her stomach tightened every time her phone stayed silent.

Now they were at Tyler's end-of-summer party, and Chloe was across the pool laughing with Kayla — the same Kayla who'd made fun of Maya's outfit last year. Maya sat on the edge of the concrete, feet dangling in the water, scrolling through Instagram to look busy.

'Hey.'

Maya looked up. It was Lucas, the quiet guy from her English class. He sat beside her, close enough that their knees almost touched. 'Mind if I crash your solo party?'

She shrugged. 'Help yourself.'

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute, watching people splash and scream in the pool. Then Lucas said, 'Chloe's been talking about you all week, you know.'

Maya snorted. 'Right. That's why she's practically ignoring me.'

'Not like that.' He hesitated. 'She thinks you're mad at her. She said you haven't been the same since... you know.'

Since Maya had backed out of the group trip to the waterpark because she'd gotten her period unexpectedly and felt too embarrassed to explain. Instead she'd said she just didn't want to go, and Chloe had taken it personally.

The realization hit Maya like a wave. All this time, she'd thought Chloe was pulling away, when really they were both just terrible at communicating.

She stood up and waded into the pool, water swirling around her legs. 'Lucas, you're a genius.'

He laughed. 'I try.'

Maya crossed the pool to where Chloe and Kayla were sitting. 'Can I talk to you for a sec?'

Chloe's eyes widened, but she followed Maya to the shallow end. They stood waist-deep in the water, and Maya reached out, palm up, the universal sign for truce. 'I'm an idiot. I thought you were mad because I bailed on the waterpark, so I stopped texting as much, and then I thought YOU were mad at ME...'

Chloe's shoulders dropped. 'I thought you didn't want to be friends anymore because I kept asking you to hang out and you kept saying no.'

'I wanted to! I just... it was that week, and I was embarrassed, and I handled it like emotionally constipated garbage.'

Chloe snorted with laughter, then grabbed Maya's hand, palm against palm. 'We're both disasters.'

'Yeah.' Maya smiled, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. 'But at least we're disasters together.'