The Pool Party Text

Maya's fingers hovered over the screen of her iphone, the blue light from the pool party invitation making her squint. She'd been running from social situations since seventh grade, when someone recorded her tripping in the cafeteria and it got passed around like sacred text.

"You going?" Chloe asked. They'd been best friends since kindergarten, but lately Chloe had been drifting toward the popular crowd. The ones who actually got invited to things.

"I don't know," Maya said. "Pool parties aren't really my vibe."

"Since when?" Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You love swimming. You literally ran track last spring to get in shape for swim season."

That was before. Before everything changed.

The night of the party, Maya stood outside for twenty minutes, clutching her phone like a lifeline. The sound of laughter and splashing drifted through the fence. She could just leave. She was good at leaving.

Then she saw someone running toward the gate—Jordan, the quiet guy from her English class. He stopped when he saw her.

"You going in?" he asked. "I've been standing out here for ten minutes working up the courage."

Maya laughed. She couldn't help it. "Me too."

They went in together. And when Maya's iphone slipped from her pocket and sank to the bottom of the pool, Jordan dove in after it without hesitation. When he emerged, dripping wet, holding her phone like a prize, everyone cheered.

That night, Maya texted Chloe: Best friend mission accomplished. I survived.

Chloe wrote back: You're braver than you think.

Maya smiled at her screen. Maybe she was running toward something instead of away from it, after all.