The Incident at the Castillo Pool Party

The Castillo pool party was THE event of the summer, and somehow, against all odds, I'd been invited. I'd been crushing on Mateo since seventh grade when he accidentally knocked into my tray in the cafeteria and didn't even apologize—not because he was mean, but because he was genuinely clueless, which somehow made it worse.

"Just be chill," Rica said, adjusting her bikini straps while I stood there in my one-piece like a total nerd. "You got this. Just don't do that thing where you overthink everything and then accidentally say something weird."

"I don't do that," I said immediately, proving her point entirely.

I'd practiced my chill face in the mirror for like a week. But nothing prepares you for the moment your crush emerges from the POOL like some kind of water god, droplets streaming down his abs while you're standing there clutching a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos like a total loser.

"Hey," Mateo said, dripping onto the concrete, smiling like he didn't know he was basically ruining my entire life with his existence.

"Hey yourself," I managed, which sounded way cooler in my head than out loud. In reality, it came out as this weird squeak-hybrid noise.

His family's DOG, Buster—a golden retriever with zero chill and infinite enthusiasm for everything—came bounding over, shaking WATER everywhere like he was some kind of furry, adorable sprinkler system. I laughed, slipping on the wet deck, and my Doritos bag went flying. Chips scattered everywhere, creating this embarrassing orange confetti situation all over the pristine deck.

I planted my face directly into Mateo's PALM as he caught me, which was simultaneously the most humiliating and most romantic moment of my entire fourteen years of existence.

"I am SO sorry," I mumbled into his hand, which smelled like chlorine and something expensive and amazing.

He laughed, actually laughed, and helped me up. "Buster does that to everyone. Last week he made my little sister fall into the pool fully dressed."

Suddenly I wasn't the girl who fell while holding chips. I was the girl who could laugh at herself. The girl who Mateo was talking to, like, actually talking to, not just being polite.

That night, my phone buzzed. Mateo had DM'd me: "Pool party next weekend? Promise I'll catch you again. ;)"

I called Rica immediately. "I am SO overthinking this right now."

"You're not," she said. "But you ARE going to need a better swimsuit."

Maybe being uncool was actually the coolest thing I could be. Or maybe I was just finally ready to stop overthinking everything and actually live.