Swimming in Circles

The pool lights flickered underwater, turning everything a weird neon blue that matched Maya's pre-party anxiety. She clutched her iPhone like a lifeline, thumb hovering over Sophie's latest text: "everyone's asking abt u. u coming?"

Maya slid into the water, the cool rush doing absolutely nothing for her racing thoughts. At sophomore pool parties, you either had epic summer stories or you were the girl standing in the corner pretending to check nonexistent notifications. She was determined not to be that girl.

"Yo, Maya!" Jake called from the diving board, doing this thing with his hair that was definitely intentional. "Truth or dare?"

The circle formed without her even realizing it. Middle of the pool, treading water like her life depended on it. All eyes locked on her like she was about to perform brain surgery instead of making a complete fool of herself.

"Truth," Maya said automatically.

"Boring," Sophie called out, but she was grinning. "Okay, fine. Who's your snap streak with?"

Maya's face heated up. Of course they'd ask this. "No one."

"Lies," chorused half the party.

"Fine! My brother's friend from college. Happy?"

The water erupted into chaos. Someone shouted "Cradle robber!" and Maya did what any reasonable person would do—she dunked herself underwater, where the world was muffled and golden. The pool lights created these wavy patterns on the bottom, and for a second she felt like a goldfish swimming in endless circles, always coming back to the same place.

Her pocket buzzed. Someone had tagged her in a story: two grainy photos of her surfacing, hair plastered to her face, looking like a drowned raccoon but laughing so hard her eyes crinkled shut. Caption: "maya's villain origin story #tanktop"

She resurfaced to everyone laughing with her, not at her.

"Delete that NOW," she yelled, splashing water everywhere, genuinely smiling.

Later, wrapped in a towel watching the sky turn that perfect summer purple, her phone lit up with a new friend request. And another. The goldfish memory thing? Total myth. She'd remember this feeling forever.