Swimming with Bulls

Maya's phone buzzed on the pool deck—her swim group chat blowing up about the regional meet tomorrow. Her stomach did that thing it always did before a big race, like it was trying to swim its own laps.

"You're not backing out," said Keisha, leaning against the bleachers in her Wildcats warm-up jacket. "We've been training for this all summer."

Maya plunged her feet into the water, letting the cold shock her nerves. "It's not the racing. It's the... you know. The trying to impress Jake from Northwood while simultaneously trying not to humiliate myself."

Keisha snorted. "Girl, please. You've been crushing on Jake since camp. Just talk to him already."

Easier said than done. Especially when Maya's mom had gone full health-food warrior this month, meaning lunch was now a sad container of wilted spinach that looked like it had seen better days. And of course, it was during fourth period when Jake finally noticed her in the hallway—really noticed her—and Maya flashed what she thought was a confident smile only to have Keisha text her two seconds later: "Urgent. Spinach in teeth. Like, a lot of it."

Maya had spent the rest of the day dying inside.

But the regional meet was tomorrow. One shot to prove she wasn't just the girl with the spinach incident. One shot to show Jake—and everyone else—that she could actually swim.

Then her coach dropped the bomb: the meet was being held at the county fairgrounds this year. Something about the community pool being renovated. Which meant navigating through livestock exhibits just to get to the temporary Olympic-sized pool.

"No way," Maya whispered when she saw it. A massive bull was staring her down, its brown eyes surprisingly soulful, horns glinting in the afternoon sun. A sign read: "Bodhi—State Fair Champion."

"That's so much bull," Keisha muttered, but she was grinning.

The bull snorted and lowered its head like it was preparing to charge. Maya's heart hammered. She'd faced hundreds of races, but this was different. This was a literal bull.

Then she saw Jake from Northwood walking toward them, talking to some friends. And she saw her chance—either walk away and stay safe, or do something completely insane.

Maya locked eyes with the bull. She thought about everything she'd been afraid of—Jake seeing her with spinach in her teeth, everyone watching her swim, putting herself out there. Then she stepped closer to the fence.

"Hey, Bodhi," she whispered. "We're both kinda misunderstood, aren't we?"

The bull huffed, its tail flicking, and Maya swore it almost nodded.

Jake noticed. "Whoa, that's some bull. You're not scared?"

Maya shrugged, feeling suddenly invincible. "Nah. I've got bigger things to worry about. Like crushing Northwood tomorrow."

Jake's grin was worth every terrifying second. "Good. Because we're not going easy on you."

Maya walked toward the pool already feeling like a champion. Bring on the races, bring on the spinach in her teeth, bring on whatever ridiculous obstacles life threw at her next.

She was ready.