The Papaya Incident

I stood at the edge of the **pool**, clutching my phone like it was a lifeline. Which, honestly, it kinda was. My charging **cable** was somewhere back at home, probably tangled in my disaster of a room, and I was down to 12%.

"You coming in or what?" Maya called from the water, splashing water in my general direction. She was surrounded by practically everyone who mattered at Northwood High, and I was standing there like a total NPC.

I'd spent three hours this morning trying to fix my **hair** after the Great DIY Bang Disaster of 2024. My mom had walked in, taken one look at me, and said, "Honey, you look like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket." Then she'd offered me a slice of papaya like that would somehow fix everything.

Which was how I ended up here: hair barely salvaged, phone dying, absolutely not swimming because I was not about to deal with wet hair situation round two.

"I'm good!" I called back, attempting what I hoped was a chill vibe and not "I'm having a mild panic attack."

My phone buzzed. 10%.

"You're missing out," Tyler said, swimming over to the edge. He had that thing going on where water droplets kept catching the light, which was annoyingly attractive. "The water's actually perfect."

"Maybe in a bit," I lied.

What happened next was exactly the kind of moment that lives in your head rent-free for the rest of your life. Maya decided to demonstrate her "sick cannonball" technique, created a mini tsunami, and suddenly I was not just at the pool party—I was IN the pool party. Phone, carefully tucked bra, dignity, all of it.

The silence lasted like three seconds.

Then everyone lost it. Even Tyler was cracking up, and I was there treading water with my phone (RIP, you will be missed) and my bangs plastering themselves to my forehead in ways no human should have to experience.

"Okay but honestly," Maya said, once the laughter died down, "that was iconic."

I wiped water from my eyes. "My phone is literally dead."

"My mom has **papaya** smoothies inside," someone offered.

I stared at them. Then I started laughing. Because somehow this entire ridiculous situation was actually fine. Better than fine.

"You know what?" I said, pushing my hair back like the chaos was intentional. "I'll take one."