Social Climbing at the Deep End

Maya's palms were sweating, which was ironic considering she was about to get into a pool. The entire swim team stood by the diving boards like some kind of athletic pyramid scheme—coach at the top, captains in the middle, and everyone else trying not to drown at the bottom.

"You're basically swimming with sharks," Zara had warned her earlier. "Just keep your head down and don't make eye contact."

But Maya wasn't there for the sport. She was there for reconnaissance. Last week, she'd noticed Zara's ex, Jordan, posting suspiciously cozy pool pics with someone new. The quality was grainy, but Maya had spotted it: a tiny pyramid tattoo on the mystery girl's shoulder. Now she just needed to confirm who it belonged to.

So here she was, pretending to be interested in competitive swimming while actually playing amateur spy. It sounded way cooler when she phrased it that way. In reality, she was just treading water and trying not to look like she was staring.

"New girl?" A girl with expensive goggles slid into the lane next to her. "I'm Chloe."

"Maya."

"First practice?" Chloe asked. "The social pyramid here's brutal, but the actual swimming's worse."

Maya laughed, then noticed it—peeking out from Chloe's swimsuit strap. A tiny pyramid tattoo.

*Found her.*

But as they swam laps together, something shifted. Chloe wasn't just "the other girl"—she was funny, she let Maya borrow her extra towel when the coach made them do extra laps, and she didn't make Maya feel like the new kid who didn't belong.

By the end of practice, Maya had completely forgotten her original mission. She was too busy making plans to get boba after practice tomorrow.

"Your palm," Chloe said suddenly as they were packing up. "You've got this crazy long life line."

Maya looked at her hand. "Yeah? You read palms now?"

"No." Chloe grinned. "But my cousin does, and she says people with long life lines are terrible at keeping secrets."

Maya froze. *Did she know?*

"Relax," Chloe whispered. "I know Zara sent you. She's been asking about me all week."

"Oh." Maya's face burned. "I'm sorry, that's—"

"Honestly?" Chloe shouldered her bag. "I'm impressed. Most people wouldn't commit to competitive swimming just for gossip. That's dedication." She paused. "Tell Zara if she wants to know something, she can ask me herself. But you? You're cool. Don't be a stranger."

Maya watched her walk away, then pulled out her phone to text Zara: *Mission aborted. The enemy is surprisingly nice. Also I think I just made a friend.*

Some spy she was. But as she looked at her palm—still pruney from the pool—Maya figured there were worse ways to fail.