The Poolside Prophecy

Maya stood at the edge of the community pool, clutching her towel like a shield. The chlorine smell hit her first, then the sight of everyone she'd been avoiding all summer.

"You coming in or what?" Jordan called from the water, splashing dramatically. "The water's perfect, weirdly warm but whatever."

Maya's stomach did that awful fluttery thing. Since the incident—since she'd overheard her supposed best friend telling everyone that Maya's hair looked like she'd "stuck her fork in an electrical socket"—she'd been basically MIA from the friend group. The pixie cut was supposed to be bold, a statement. Instead it was just another thing to whisper about.

"I'm good," Maya said, but Jordan was already swimming over.

"Dude, come on. We haven't hung out in, like, a month. And your hair actually looks kinda badass now that it grew out some. I was being a jerk, okay?"

Maya's carefully constructed anger cracked. Just a little. "Whatever. I'm still not getting in."

"Then at least help me with this." Jordan pointed to the pool's diving board, where a plastic sphinx statue sat—part of the Egyptian-themed carnival setup for tomorrow's community day. "My mom's making me help paint it gold. It's gonna be so cringe."

"That thing is hideous," Maya said, and found herself actually smiling. "Why's there even a sphinx at a pool?"

"Right?" Jordan laughed. "Anyway, I brought snacks." They pulled a Tupperware from their bag. "Your favorite—spinach and feta dip. From that Greek place you love."

The olive oil and garlic smell hit her, and suddenly Maya was crying, just full-on ugly crying in front of everyone.

"Whoa, okay, I know the dip's good but—" Jordan started, then stopped. "Maya? You good?"

"No," she wiped her eyes furiously. "I miss you, okay? I miss my friend. And I hate that I miss you because you were literally the worst."

Jordan was quiet for a second. Then: "I was. And I'm sorry. I was projecting my own insecurities onto you because I felt threatened by how confident you were being, and that's messed up. I've been working on it in therapy."

Maya blinked. "Therapy?"

"Yeah. Turns out I have, like, abandonment issues and stuff." Jordan shrugged. "Anyway, I'm gonna keep working on being less terrible. But only if you're around to call me out when I suck."

The sphinx statue seemed to be watching them, its painted-on smile almost knowing.

"Fine," Maya said, dropping her towel. "But you're carrying me to the snack bar after."

"Deal." Jordan grinned. "Also, your hair really does look sick."

"Shut up and get spinach-handed, Jordan."