Stuck in the Deep End

The pool party at Jessica's house was supposed to be legendary. That's what everyone said on Snap anyway. Maya stood at the edge, clutching her towel like a lifeline while kids from the sophomore class cannonballed and screamed. She adjusted her bikini top for the tenth time, feeling like everyone was watching.

"You gonna swim or just model that towel?" a voice called. Maya turned to see Jordan, the fox-eyed boy from her history class, dripping wet and grinning. His hair stuck up in every direction, and Maya felt her face heat up.

"I'm... uh, processing my options," she managed, which sounded way better than 'I'm terrified someone will notice I never learned to dive.'

Her phone buzzed. Her mom: Don't forget to eat something healthy! Have some spinach!

Maya groaned internally. Her mother had packed her a spinach smoothie for the party. Who brings spinach smoothies to a pool party? The answer: someone whose mother was going through a 'wellness phase' and insisted her daughter needed more iron.

"What's wrong?" Jordan swam over to the edge.

"Nothing. Just... my mom thinks I'm five and needs reminder texts about vegetables."

Jordan laughed, and Maya noticed his eyes were actually kind of beautiful up close. "My mom still cuts my sandwiches into triangles. We've all got our crosses to bear."

The pool lights flickered on as dusk settled. Someone cranked the playlist, and suddenly it was that moment—the one where something shifts. Where standing at the edge feeling ridiculous transforms into jumping in anyway.

"Race you to the other side," Maya said, dropping her towel.

"You're on."

She cannonballed (badly, but committedly), surfacing to find Jordan already halfway across. But she was laughing, actually laughing, and when she reached the other side, gasping and splashing, Jordan high-fived her.

"Not bad for someone who needed 'processing time,'" he said.

Maya wiped water from her eyes. The spinach smoothie could wait. Some things were more important than iron.