The Pool Party Protocol

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, toes curled against the wet concrete. The water shimmered with that perfect blue filter everyone used on their posts. Meanwhile, she was seriously considering faking a sudden illness and bolting for her front door.

"You coming in or what?" Jayden called, splashing water that somehow made his hair look even better. How was that fair?

"Yeah, just... stretching," Maya lied, stretching her arms like that would somehow make this less awkward.

The truth was, Maya didn't do swimming. Not competitively, not recreationally, not publicly. Her last pool experience involved her bikini top malfunctioning during a game of Sharks and Minnows in seventh grade, and she'd been haunted ever since.

But this was Jayden's house. Jayden, who she'd been lowkey obsessed with since October. Jayden, who'd actually invited her. Saying no wasn't an option.

She took a breath and eased into the water, relieved when she could touch bottom. See? This was fine. Everything was completely—

Someone cannonballed nearby, sending waves cascading over her head. Maya surfaced spluttering as everyone laughed. Great. First impressions were going swimmingly.

"Your phone okay?" Jayden asked, nodding toward the pool chair where her iPhone sat perilously close to the edge.

"Oh crap," Maya scrambled toward it, but her foot slipped on the slick surface. She grabbed for the phone case and missed—watching in horror as her phone slid straight into the pool.

The world stopped. Her entire life. Gone. Just like that.

But before she could even process this tragedy, Jayden was already moving. He grabbed a charging cable from the table, tied it around a pool net, and fished out her phone in one smooth motion.

"Put it in rice, you'll be good," he said, handing it to her with zero judgment. "Happened to me twice last summer."

Maya stared at him. Water dripped from her hair. Her phone was dripping. Everything was dripping.

"You're, like, actually so chill," she said, and immediately wanted to die.

Jayden laughed—that genuine one where his nose crinkled. "You stood at the edge for twenty minutes doing stretches. I know you're nervous. It's giving 'new girl energy,' but like, in a cute way."

Maya's face burned. "You noticed that?"

"Hard not to." He dipped underwater, then resurfaced closer. "Hey, you want me to teach you how to actually not drown? My sister's a lifeguard, I know all the techniques."

Something in Maya's chest loosened. Maybe this wasn't a disaster after all. Maybe, just maybe, she could learn to swim—both literally and figuratively—in the deep end.

"Only if you promise not to laugh at my doggy paddle," she said.

"No promises," Jayden grinned. "But I'll go easy on you. Friend discount."