Signal in the Deep End

The pool party glow from my phone screen was the only light in my room. Maya's texts kept popping up: 'u coming?' 'everyone's asking' 'please say u r'

I wasn't ready. My dad had spent all weekend upgrading our cable system—some diy project he swore would fix everything. Instead, our internet was dead.

'Just go,' I told myself. 'You're not gonna bear another FOMO spiral.' I grabbed my board, shoved down the anxiety pooling in my stomach.

Outside, the heat hit like a wall. The dive spot was this abandoned pool complex—cracked concrete, wild vines, perfect for fake deep conversations about how 'adulting was gonna slap.' Someone strung a cable between two rusted lifeguard chairs, a single bulb swaying like it was nervous too.

Maya was there, looking effortless in a way that made my chest tight. 'You made it!' She grabbed my hand. 'We saved you a spot on the edge.'

The crew was circled around the empty pool, trading stories like currency. Lucas was bragging about his summer internship at his dad's company. 'It's insane, you wouldn't believe the cable management system I designed. Six figures potential, no joke.'

I snorted. Everyone looked.

'Sorry,' I said, 'just thinking about how my dad's been fighting with our cable all weekend and now I can't even stream anything.'

'Classic,' Maya said. 'But hey, at least you're not stuck inside.' She elbowed me. 'Bet you can't still make that shot you were practicing last year.'

The challenge hung in the humid air. I hadn't touched a board since I ate it hard trying to kickflip into the shallow end. But something about the way everyone watched made me want to prove I wasn't the same kid who wiped out.

I dropped in.

The concrete felt familiar beneath my wheels, muscles remembering what my brain had forgotten. Speed built. I aimed for the pool's edge, that perfect transition ramp we'd all secretly practiced when no one was watching.

I launched. The board rotated—once, twice—my body following through instinct I didn't know I still had. I landed solid, the sound echoing through the empty complex like applause.

'YES!' Maya screamed. 'Did you see that?'

Lucas nodded, actually impressed. 'Okay, that was sick.'

I coasted to a stop, chest heaving. For once, the anxiety pooling inside me had turned into something else. Something that felt like I belonged.

'Your turn,' I told Lucas, gesturing toward the cable-rigged light swinging above the empty pool. 'Show me that six-figure cable management.'

He laughed, and for the first time all night, the FOMO didn't feel like a weight I was bearing alone.