Screen Time at Sunset

Maya felt like a **zombie** as she dragged herself to Tyler's pool party—three consecutive nights of scrolling TikTok until 3 AM will do that to you. Her **iPhone** buzzed in her pocket, probably another group chat blowup between Emma and Brianna about who liked who's Instagram post. Ugh.

The pool area was already packed. Tyler's older brother was in the corner, earnestly explaining some energy drink **pyramid** scheme to two confused freshmen. Maya rolled her eyes. Same old Tyler.

"Hey! You made it!" Emma waved from the pool, where she was **swimming** lazy circles around some sophomore Maya didn't recognize. Something twisted in Maya's chest. Since when did Emma hang out with sophomores?

Maya's palms were sweating—gross, she knew, but she couldn't help it. Social anxiety was her oldest frenemy. She reached for her phone out of habit, then stopped. Her mom's voice echoed in her head: "You're missing everything because you're busy documenting everything."

She took a breath and actually looked around. The way the sunset hit the water, making it look like liquid gold. Tyler's **palm** trees swaying in the breeze, casting shadows on the concrete. Real moments, not filtered ones.

"Maya! Get in here!" Emma called, splashing water.

For a second, Maya considered grabbing her phone, taking a aesthetic photo for her story, captioning it something about golden hour. But then she thought: screw it. She kicked off her sandals and jumped in.

The water was perfect—cool but not cold. Emma swam over, grinning. "Finally decided to join the living instead of the undead?"

"Shut up," Maya laughed, splashing her back. "I'm just selective about my social battery."

"Whatever you say, zombie girl."

They floated on their backs, watching the sky turn pink and orange. No phones, no drama, just the water holding them up. Maybe, Maya thought, this summer wouldn't be so bad after all.