The Pool Edge

I'm standing at the edge of the pool clutching my gummy vitamin D supplement like it's a lifeline. My mom shoved it at me this morning, claiming I'd get rickets from spending all summer indoors.

"You coming in or what?" Maya yells from the deep end, splashing water everywhere. Her bright yellow bikini makes it look like being 15 and confident is just something you can buy at the mall.

"Yeah, just... warming up." I wave the supplement package weakly.

Truth is, I can't swim. Not even a little. The other seniors figured it out freshman year, but I've been faking stomach cramps at pool parties for three years straight.

"Your cable's out again," my dad had complained at breakfast, like that's why I'm avoiding Tyler's graduation party. Like I'm not going because the WiFi is down and not because my entire friend group will be shirtless in water and I'll be the one fully clothed on the side, probably drinking a warm soda.

The real reason I'm standing here? Tyler asked me to come. Actually asked. His dark eyes had fixed on mine in chemistry yesterday when everyone was talking about the party, and he'd said, "You should come. It'll be chill." Simple as that.

Now the concrete burns through my flip-flops and the smell of chlorine is making me feel dizzy. I spot Tyler across the pool, laughing at something Maya's brother said. His wet hair is plastered to his forehead.

I start backing toward the gate. I'll just say I got my period. Or that I forgot my suit. Or—

"Hey!" Tyler's suddenly beside me, dripping pool water all over my shoes. "You gonna jump in? The water's perfect."

"I... actually can't really—"

"Whatever, I'll teach you," he shrugs. "I was a lifeguard last summer." Like it's nothing. Like being vulnerable is just another thing you do at parties.

So I toss the vitamin supplement into my bag, step out of my flip-flops, and jump. The water's cold, shocking my lungs, and I'm sinking, but then hands grab my waist, pull me up.

"Gotcha," Tyler says, and somehow I'm floating, somehow I'm laughing, somehow this thing I've been terrified of for years is just... water. Just cool and blue and holding me up.

Later, Maya will make fun of me for not knowing how to dive. Tyler will teach me anyway. And when I get home, my dad will still complain about the cable.

But right now, I'm not the girl who can't swim. I'm just here, treading water, learning that sometimes the only thing scarier than jumping in is staying on the edge forever.