The Pool Party Protocol

Maya's summer job as a lifeguard at the rec center was supposed to be easy money, but the cable guy situation was proving otherwise. She'd been crushing on Leo since middle school, and now he was always "fixing the cable" by the pool—like, every single day. His company shirt was slightly too small, and Maya found herself strategically positioning her chair near the cable box whenever he showed up.

The real problem was Trinity, Maya's former best friend turned popular girl extraordinaire. Trinity had been throwing shade across the pool all week, making Maya feel like she was back in seventh grade when Trinity ditched her for the cool table. That's when Maya noticed it: Trinity kept sneaking away to make phone calls near the equipment shed.

"I swear she's a spy," Maya whispered to Kai, the other lifeguard, during their break. "Like, literally who calls someone that many times during a pool party?"

Kai, who'd been Maya's gay awakening freshman year and was now her platonic work husband, rolled his eyes. "Maybe she's just being a normal teenager with an actual social life. Unlike some people who work at the pool all summer."

Maya threw a piece of her sandwich at him. "Not all of us can be cool artsy kids who spend their free time at pottery camp."

The truth came out during the Fourth of July party. Maya was on duty when Leo approached her, finally. But instead of asking for her number, he said, "Hey, your friend Trinity told me you're, like, really into ancient Egypt stuff?"

Maya blinked. "What? No?"

"She said you have this whole collection of sphinx figurines and mythology books," Leo continued, looking genuinely interested. "I thought that was actually pretty cool. I minored in classical studies before dropping out."

Maya's face burned. Trinity wasn't being a spy for the popular crowd—she was playing matchmaker. Or maybe this was some elaborate revenge plot to embarrass Maya with fake interests.

"I don't... that's not..." Maya stammered, but Leo was already smiling.

"Well, regardless, I wanted to ask if you wanted to get boba sometime? After I finish this cable job, obviously."

Later that night, Maya sat on her bedroom floor, water from the pool still in her hair, scrolling through Trinity's Instagram. She'd sent a DM: "He asked. You're welcome." Attached was a photo of them from seventh grade, wearing sphinx costumes for Halloween because they'd both been obsessed with mythology back then.

Maya smiled, finally understanding. Some friendships could survive anything—even high school. And maybe, just maybe, Leo would be worth the awkward cable conversations after all.