The Deep End of DMs

Marcus stood at the edge of the pool, chlorine stinging his nose. Below him, his iPhone glowed faintly through three feet of water—his entire life, his social standing, his carefully curated existence, sinking like a stone in slow motion.

"You going after it or what?" Maya asked from behind him. She'd been distant since freshman year started, ever since she'd joined the volleyball team and started hanging with the popular crowd. They used to be best friends, inseparable since kindergarten, but now she barely texted back.

"I can't swim," Marcus admitted, the words tasting like defeat. His face burned. Who admits that at fifteen? Especially when everyone else was doing laps and cannonballs like it was nothing.

Maya's expression shifted. She dropped her phone on the bench and stepped closer. "Seriously? All this time?"

"Don't make it weird."

"I'm not." She studied him, really looked at him for the first time in months. "My cousin nearly drowned when we were kids. Took me three years to get back in the water."

Marcus stared at her. She'd never mentioned that. Then again, they hadn't really talked lately—not really talked—in forever.

"Your phone," she said. "What's on it that's so important anyway?"

"Everything." But then he thought about it. The DMs he obsessed over. The likes he chased. The posts he deleted and reposted until they felt perfect. "Nothing. Actually. Just... everything that doesn't matter."

Maya smirked. "Damn. That's deep, Marcus."

"Shut up."

"Jump with me," she said.

"What?"

"Jump. Together. I'll be right there. Count of three."

"Maya—"

"One."

"No, wait—"

"Two."

He closed his eyes. "Three."

The water hit him cold, shocking his breath away. For a second he flailed, panic rising in his throat—but then hands grabbed him, steadying him. Maya's hands. She was treading water beside him, laughing as she broke the surface.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." He was floating. Actually floating. "Yeah, I'm good."

She dove under, coming up a moment later with his iPhone. "R.I.P. your screen, though."

Marcus took it, water dripping everywhere. The screen was black. Dead. All those notifications, all that noise—gone. But looking at Maya, at the way she was smiling like she used to, like they were still friends who knew everything about each other, he realized maybe he hadn't lost anything important after all.

"Wanna get food?" she asked. "My treat. Since I destroyed your phone."

Marcus laughed, treading water beside his oldest friend in the deep end. "Yeah. Actually. I'd like that."