The Green Smile

I stood at the edge of the pool clutching my iPhone like a lifeline, thumb hovering over Maya's text from two hours ago: "Pool party @ Jake's. U coming?" My heart did that stupid fluttery thing every time I thought about her. Jake's parties were legendary, but I'd been avoiding them since seventh grade when I cannonballed into the shallow end and my swim trunks decided to stay behind.

"Yo, Marcus! You gonna stand there all day or actually get in?" Jake called out, already doing laps across the pool like he owned the water.

I shucked my phone onto the lawn chair and dove in. The cool water felt amazing, washing away the sticky June heat. I surfaced to find Maya floating nearby, her hair slicked back like a mermaid from a Disney movie but cooler.

"Hey!" she said, smiling. "I didn't think you'd come."

"Yeah, well." I treaded water, trying to look casual. "Figured I'd stop being such a loser eventually."

She laughed. "You're not a loser. You're just... selective about your social interactions."

We hung out in the shallow end, talking about nothing and everything. She showed me her new iPhone case, and I pretended I didn't already know she'd gotten it because I'd stalked her Instagram story like five times that morning.

Then her best friend Chloe appeared with a tray of food. "Spinach dip, anyone? It's actually legit."

Maya grabbed a cracker loaded with the green stuff and took a huge bite. "See? Not weird at all."

I was about to respond when my stomach growled loud enough to echo across the pool. Everyone looked. Heat crept up my neck.

"Dude, when did you last eat?" Jake asked from across the water.

"Uh... lunch?" But it had been breakfast, actually. I'd been too nervous about today to eat.

Maya swam over and handed me a spinach-covered cracker. "Here. Trust me, you need this."

I took it. The spinach was actually incredible—creamy, salty, with little flecks of artichoke. I devoured three more.

"Okay, so I'm a convert," I said, wiping my mouth.

Maya laughed, then her eyes went wide. "Marcus, you have—"

"What?"

"Spinach. In your teeth. Like, a LOT."

I scraped it out with my tongue, mortified. But Maya was still laughing, and then she splashed me, and suddenly we were having a full-on water fight, and nobody was laughing at me anymore.

Later, sitting on the edge of the pool with my feet in the water, Maya bumped my shoulder. "You know, you're pretty cool when you stop overthinking everything."

"Yeah?" I looked over at her.

"Yeah. My friend Jake thinks you're cool too. He was asking about you earlier."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. And I think..." She paused, thoughtful. "I think you should come swimming more often. Not just for parties. Like, actually swimming. We could race."

"I'd destroy you," I said, before I could stop myself.

She grinned. "Bring it on, Spinach Breath."

And just like that, the nervousness I'd been carrying around for two years dissolved into the chlorinated water. Sometimes the scary moments aren't scary at all. Sometimes they're just spinach dip and pool water and someone calling you by a ridiculous nickname and meaning it as a compliment.