Sunburned Secrets

The water in the **pool** shimmered like liquid diamonds, but Maya's stomach felt like it was doing backflips. This was Tyler's party—THE Tyler from AP Bio who somehow made Bunsen burners look like accessories. She'd spent three hours convincing herself she belonged here, scrolling through her **iPhone** until her thumb literally cramped.

"Yo, Maya! You gonna float there all day or actually swim?" Jenna called, doing an accidental cannonball that splashed chlorine water into Maya's eyes. Perfect.

Her phone buzzed on the patio table. The group chat was blowing up. Someone had posted a TikTok of Maya from last week—trying to be aesthetic with a sliced **papaya** at brunch like some wellness influencer wannabe. The caption said "main character energy" but the comments were roasting her so hard she'd considered deleting social media entirely. Or at least changing her name to something ungoogleable. Maybe "Brenda."

Tyler swam over, doing that thing where he slicked his hair back without trying. Water droplets clung to his eyelashes like tiny crystals. Why did boys always look better when they were wet? It was scientifically unfair.

"Nice **orange** swimsuit," he said. "Reminds me of those old Lifeguard shows my dad watches."

Maya's face burned hotter than actual fire. "That's—that's not what I was going for."

"Nah, it's sick." He floated closer. "Hey, I saw that TikTok. With the papaya."

She wanted to dissolve. "Please tell me you didn't."

"I did." His dimples showed. "And I thought—finally, someone who doesn't take themselves seriously." He treaded water, their knees almost touching beneath the surface. "Everyone at this school tries so hard to be chill. You're just... out there."

"Out there as in embarrassing?"

"Out there as in real." His eyes held hers. "It's kinda why I invited you."

Her phone buzzed again on the patio table. Probably more notifications. Probably something that would've made her overthink everything, spiral into an existential crisis, and eventually convince herself to leave early.

Instead, she swam toward the deep end, leaving the phone behind, and let herself sink into the cool, quiet blue. Sometimes the most real moments happened when you finally stopped scrolling.