The Palm Reader by the Pool

Maya's palms were sweating. Like, actually sweating — gross, slippery droplets collecting in her hands as she gripped her phone. The invitation had said "pool party," which normally would've been enough reason to fake sick and stay home binge-watching Netflix. But this was Tyler's party. Tyler with the messy hair and the crooked smile who sat behind her in third period.

So here she was, standing at the gate in her one-piece (tankinis were for quitters who wanted to look good while still being basic), while the smell of chlorine and expensive sunscreen wafted through the air. The pool glittered like something from a music video — all blue and perfect and completely terrifying.

"You gonna stand there all day or what?"

Maya jumped. It was Jada, who lived two houses down and had once read Maya's palm at a sleepover and predicted she'd marry someone named Chad. (Spoiler: Chad was a guy in their grade who collected insects. Maya was still recovering.)

"I'm... observing," Maya said. "From a tactical distance."

Jada snorted. "You're scared of the water. Again."

"I respect the water. It's a powerful force of nature that can literally kill you."

"Yeah, okay, Aquaman." Jada grabbed her wrist. "Come on. Tyler keeps looking over here like a lost puppy."

Before Maya could protest, Jada was dragging her across the deck, past clusters of people who seemed to possess innate knowledge of how to exist at pool parties. Tyler waved. Maya accidentally made a weird hand gesture that was supposed to be a wave but looked more like she was conducting an invisible orchestra.

"Hey!" Tyler called. "You made it!"

"Yup," Maya said. "Just came to... supervise. Safety first."

"You're not gonna swim?"

"I had a big lunch. Food coma. Very medical. Very serious."

Jada rolled her eyes so hard Maya worried they might get stuck. "I'm doing palm readings now," she announced, pulling a folded beach towel from her bag. "Five bucks. Or secrets. I accept secrets as payment."

"That's not a real thing," someone said.

"Tell that to Maya's future husband Chad," Jada said, and Maya wanted to dissolve into the concrete.

But then Tyler sat down. "Okay, do me."

Jada examined his palm like it contained the meaning of life. "Hmm... long life line. You're gonna live forever. Unfortunately." She traced a line with her finger. "This here's your love line. It says you're scared to make a move on someone standing literally three feet away."

Tyler turned bright red. The color of a stop sign. The color of Maya's one-piece, actually, which she was suddenly hyper-aware of.

"That's not how palm reading works," Maya said quickly.

"Isn't it?" Jada grinned. "Your turn, future Mrs. Chad."

But Maya was already backing away. "Nope. No thank you. My future is a mysterious and unknowable void, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Maya, wait." Tyler stood up, water dripping from his swim trunks. "Do you want to just... hang out? Over there?" He pointed to a spot under a palm tree, where the ground was dry and nobody was doing cannonballs or existing with too much confidence.

"Oh," Maya said. "Yeah. Okay."

They sat in the shade while Jada read palms for actual money (capitalism at its finest) and someone did a backflip off the diving board and everyone screamed. Tyler talked about his shitty summer job at the movie theater. Maya made him laugh so hard he snorted.

"Your hands," he said suddenly.

"What?"

"They're not shaking anymore."

Maya looked down. Her palms were dry. The pool still glittered with terrifying beauty. Jada was telling someone they'd have seven children and everyone was laughing.

"Yeah," Maya said. "I guess not."

"Good," Tyler said, and his hand brushed against hers, just for a second, but it was enough. "Because you know what your palm says?"

"You're not actually a palm reader."

"No. But Jada told me earlier that your hand literally says 'brave' on it. In invisible ink. It's very scientific."

Maya laughed. For real this time. "You're full of it."

"Maybe." He stood up, holding out a hand. "But seriously. You should come in. The water's not that deep."

Maya looked at his hand. At the pool. At Jada, who was giving her a thumbs-up from across the deck.

"Okay," she said. "But if I drown, I'm haunting you."

"Deal."

She took his hand. It was warm and dry and absolutely nothing like Chad's would probably be. The pool was still scary. But she was feeling brave. Or at least, brave-adjacent.

Baby steps.