The Bottom of the Pool

Maya's palms were sweating so much she thought her phone might slip right out of her hand and sink to the bottom of the pool. The massive house loomed ahead, thumping bass already vibrating through the evening air like a heartbeat everyone pretended wasn't nervous energy.

"You good?" Jordan asked, nudging her shoulder. "You look like you're about to throw up."

"Totally good," Maya lied, adjusting her bikini top for the fiftieth time. "Just processing how weird it is that Tyler's parents are literally never home on weekends."

"That's why we're here." Jordan grinned. "Free food, unlimited pool access, zero adult supervision. The holy trinity."

The party was already in full swing when they pushed through the back gate. Dozens of bodies moved around the pool like colorful fish—some swimming actual laps, most just treading water in that weird way people do when they're trying to look effortless. The patio was littered with solo cups and flip-flops, the grill smoking with something that smelled way too expensive for high schoolers to be cooking themselves.

And there he was. Ethan. Standing by the diving board with that dumb effortless way he had, like gravity worked differently for him. He caught Maya's eye and actually waved. Not that polite little wave people give when they don't remember your name, but a real wave. Like he knew who she was.

"I think he's looking at you," Jordan whispered.

"Shut up, he's waving at someone behind me."

"Nope, definitely you. Go talk to him."

Maya's palms were sweating again. She wiped them on her towel and made her way over, heart pounding harder than the bass. The pool looked so inviting—she could just jump in, escape the conversation, avoid the possibility of saying something completely embarrassing. But then she'd be that girl who jumped in a pool fully clothed in the middle of a conversation.

"Hey!" Ethan said, like he'd actually been waiting for her. "You're in my English class, right? We did that group project on The Great Gatsby last month."

Maya's brain short-circuited. He remembered. Not just remembered she existed, but remembered the project where she'd spent twenty minutes explaining why green light symbolism was actually kind of overrated.

"Yeah!" she said, way too loud. "That was... yeah."

Smooth, Maya. Real smooth.

Ethan laughed. "You were totally right about Gatsby, by the way. The green light is overrated. Everyone thinks it's so deep, but it's really just... green light."

Maya felt herself actually smiling. Maybe this night wouldn't be a total disaster after all.