The Pool Party Pyramid

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, clutching her towel like a shield. The invitation to Jordan's party had felt like winning the lottery—she was a freshman, for crying out loud, and Jordan was a junior with the kind of social pyramid power that usually kept little people like her at the bottom.

"You coming in or what?" Jordan called from the water, surrounded by her squad of perfectly tanned friends. They floated in a formation that looked suspiciously like a social hierarchy, with Jordan at the peak.

"Yeah, just... yeah." Maya dropped her towel and slid into the pool, the cool water shocking her skin. She'd been swimming since she was seven, but suddenly she felt like she'd forgotten how. Everything was different when people were watching.

Then she saw him.

Finn—aka Fox, because the guy could weasel out of anything and still look innocent doing it—leaned against the snack table, peeling an orange. He caught her eye and actually smiled. Not the polite smile he gave teachers, but a real one.

"Hey, you're Maya, right? The one who aced the history test?"

Maya's brain short-circuited. Fox knew who she was? "Yeah, that's me."

"Cool." He flipped an orange slice into his mouth. "I might need tutoring. Jordan said you're smart."

Jordan? Jordan had talked about her? Maya felt something weird in her chest—like hope, but more dangerous.

"I could help," she heard herself say. "If you want."

Fox's grin widened. "Deal. Same time next week?"

When Jordan climbed out of the pool and announced they were doing a human pyramid in the shallow end, Maya found herself somehow positioned right beside Fox at the base. His shoulder pressed against hers, warm and solid. The pyramid wobbled, everyone laughed, and for once, Maya wasn't at the bottom looking up.

She was exactly where she was supposed to be.