The Poolside Courage Test

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, clutching her oversized sun hat like a shield. The orange inflatable bear floated mockingly in the center of the water, exactly where Jake—the cutest sophomore in school—was currently treading water and laughing at something his friends said.

"You coming in or what?" Jake called, splashing water toward her.

Maya's heart hammered. She'd been practicing her cannonball in her bathtub for weeks, but this was different. This was the first pool party of freshman year, and everyone was watching.

She adjusted her hat, suddenly aware of how ridiculous she looked. Who wore a sun hat to a pool party? Her older sister's voice echoed in her head: *Just be yourself, Maya. But maybe, like, a cooler version?*

"Yeah!" someone shouted. "Do a cannonball!"

Maya took a deep breath. The worst thing that could happen was she'd belly flop and her middle school reputation would follow her into high school. No pressure.

She dropped the hat on the lounge chair. The orange bear stared at her with googly eyes, almost daring her.

*Just bear it,* she told herself. *Like, literally bear it. Grab the bear.*

Without letting herself overthink it, Maya sprinted toward the pool, leaped, and wrapped her arms around the inflatable bear just as she hit the water. The impact sent a massive splash cascading over everyone on that side of the pool—including Jake.

Silence for exactly two seconds.

Then Jake surfaced, dripping water, grinning. "That was actually kind of epic."

"Yeah?" Maya asked, pulling the bear closer like it was a life raft. "Or are you just being nice because I almost drowned you?"

"Definitely the epic part," he said, swimming closer. "I'm Jake, by the way."

"Maya."

"Well, Maya," he said, climbing onto his own orange float, "you're now officially the only person I know who's brave enough to kidnap a pool bear in front of everyone. Respect."

As they floated side by side, Maya realized something: maybe being herself—even the slightly weird, pool-bear-kidnapping version—wasn't so bad after all. The water felt perfect, and for the first time all summer, she stopped holding her breath.