Splash Point

The country club parking lot was basically a luxury car dealership when Maya pulled up. Her dad's Honda stuck out like a sore thumb between the BMWs and Teslas. She grabbed her **iphone** off the passenger seat, heart already doing that familiar fluttery thing.

You coming? the group chat read. Pool party starts NOW.

Maya swallowed hard. She wasn't exactly part of the popular crowd, but somehow she'd gotten invited to Jessica's end-of-summer bash. Probably because Jessica's older brother thought she was cute. Or maybe it was a mistake. Either way, she was here.

The **water** in the pool glittered like diamonds under the afternoon sun. A dozen kids from her grade were already in, splashing and laughing like they'd all been best friends since kindergarten. Maya stood by the fence in her new swimsuit, suddenly painfully aware she was the only one not already living her best life.

"Hey! Maya!" It was Tyler, Jessica's brother. He waved from the **padel** court nearby, racket in hand. "Wanna play?"

Her stomach did a backflip. Tyler Freaking Miller wanted to play padel with her. The same Tyler who sat behind her in history and made her laugh so hard she got detention twice. The Tyler whose face appeared in her dreams way more often than she'd ever admit.

"Sure," she called back, trying to sound casual instead of like she was internally screaming. "Let me just—"

But as she stepped forward, her foot caught on something. Her **iphone** flew from her hand in what felt like slow motion, hitting the concrete with a sickening crack before sliding straight into the pool.

Everything stopped. Everyone stared.

Maya's face burned hotter than the July sun. She wanted to evaporate, to teleport anywhere else, to literally die on the spot.

But then Tyler jumped into the pool, clothes and all, and fished out her phone. His hair dripped as he handed it to her, grinning. "Well, that's one way to make an entrance."

Someone laughed. Then someone else. Maya found herself laughing too, actually laughing, as she stood there dripping and embarrassed and alive.

"So," Tyler said, wiping water from his eyes. "Still up for **padel**? Or did you bring a bathing suit for a reason?"

Maya looked at her ruined phone, then at the inviting blue **water**, then at Tyler standing there like he'd just jumped in a pool for fun, not because he was trying to save her dignity.

"Both," she said, and cannonballed in.