The Girl Who Couldn't Swim

Maya's cat Mochi headbutted her ankle at 7 AM sharp. The universe was clearly trying to tell her something. Today was the day. Jordan's pool party. The event of the season according to every single group chat she was in.

The problem wasn't the social part. Okay, it was partially the social part. But mostly it was the water thing. Maya, sixteen years old, still couldn't swim. She'd faked stomachaches, forgotten her swimsuit, developed sudden allergies to chlorine — anything to avoid the inevitable humiliation.

"You good?" Chloe asked at lunch, sliding into the cafeteria booth. "You've been weird about Jordan's party all week."

"I'm fine," Maya said, which was basically her default setting. "Just... not feeling very social today."

"That's cap and you know it." Chloe stole a fry. "Listen, nobody cares if you're not Olympic-level at swimming. Jordan's cousin Sam will be there."

Sam. The Sphinx. That's what everyone called them because they apparently knew everything but said nothing. Perfect.

By 3 PM, Maya stood at the edge of Jordan's pool, toes curled into the concrete. Everyone was already in the water, splashing and laughing and doing cannonballs like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her phone buzzed — Mochi's cat cam showed her cat sleeping in a sunbeam, utterly unbothered. Rude.

"Maya!" Jordan yelled. "Get in here!"

She forced a smile. "Just warming up!"

"You good?"

The Sphinx approached, water dripping from their hair like they'd just emerged from some mythical lagoon. Sam stood there, arms crossed, totally unreadable. Which was annoying because the whole point of coming to a party was to read the room, and the room was currently very wet and judgmental.

"I don't really swim," Maya said, before she could overthink it.

Sam nodded once. "Cool. Neither did I until last year."

"Seriously?"

"Everyone thinks I'm all mysterious and whatever." Sam shrugged. "Mostly I just didn't want people to know I couldn't do stuff. Turns out nobody actually cares that much."

Maya looked at the water. It was just water. It wasn't gonna bite.

"I can teach you," Sam said. "If you want. Or we can just sit here and look mysterious together."

Maya's phone buzzed again. Another notification from the cat cam: Mochi had knocked over her water bowl. Water everywhere. Chaos. A sign if she'd ever seen one.

"Teach me," she said.

The Sphinx smiled. It wasn't mysterious at all. It was just a smile.

By the end of the party, Maya could doggy paddle. She'd also accidentally splashed Jordan's older sister, lost her favorite hair tie, and made Sam laugh so hard soda came out their nose.

Her cat cam showed Mochi observing the chaos through the window, judging silently.

Best day ever.