The Last Text Before the Dive

I was walking around like a zombie after three straight nights of doomscrolling until 3 AM, my brain fried on TikToks and existence crises. Maya's pool party was supposed to fix that — you know, be "social" and touch grass and whatever else my mom kept going on about.

But there I was, poolside in my oversized swim trunks, clutching my iPhone like a lifeline while everyone else actually seemed to be having fun. The water glittered like something out of a perfume commercial, and people were doing cannonballs and chicken fights and all that classic summer stuff that I was somehow too exhausted to participate in.

"You gonna actually get in, or just nurse that phone all day?" Leo asked, flopping down on the lounge chair next to mine. We'd been best friend since seventh grade, back when being awkwardly tall was basically our entire personality.

"I'm living vicariously through my camera roll," I muttered, which sounded even lamer out loud than it had in my head. "Besides, chlorine and technology don't exactly mix."

Leo rolled his eyes. "You're missing it. This is peak summer content. Jasmine just did a backflip off the diving board, and you were too busy checking your notifications to witness greatness."

Something about his tone made me actually look up. Really look. The sun was starting to dip, painting everything in this golden-hour glow that made even Chad from math class look almost aesthetic. People were laughing, shrieking, existing in this moment that I was basically watching through a screen.

My phone buzzed — probably another stupid group chat notification that could wait until never.

I locked it and stood up.

"Fine," I said. "But if I bellyflop, you're deleting that footage immediately."

Leo's grin was exactly why I kept him around. "No promises."

The water hit me like waking up from a three-year nap. Cold, shocking, and absolutely alive. When I surfaced, sputtering and feeling more present than I had in weeks, my phone was just a dark rectangle on a table, and for the first time all summer, that felt completely okay.