The Pyramid Incident at Sarah's Pool Party

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, clutching her towel like a lifeline. Her hair, already defeated by the humidity, had frizzed into what she privately called "the electrocuted poodle look." Not exactly the vibe she was going for when Jordan, the baseball captain and main character of her fantasies since April, was literally five feet away.

Sarah's pool party was supposed to be the social event of the summer, and Maya had spent three hours getting ready. Now she regretted everything.

"Maya! Get in here!" Sarah yelled from the water, where she was attempting to organize something that looked suspiciously like a human pyramid. "We're doing the thing!"

"The thing" being that ridiculous Instagram trend where people formed pyramids in pools and posted it with aesthetic captions. Maya's social anxiety kicked into high gear.

"I'm good!" she called back, voice cracking.

Then Jordan swam over, water droplets running down his arms like he was in a slow-motion music video. "Come on, Maya. We need one more person for the pyramid."

Her brain short-circuited. Jordan. Talking to her. Wanting her in the pyramid.

"Okay," she squeaked.

As she waded in, she felt something furry brush against her leg. She screamed and splashed backward, directly into Jordan's chest.

"Yo, you good?" he asked, steadying her.

"Something touched me!"

Everyone froze. Then, from the bushes, emerged the fattest orange cat Maya had ever seen. It sat regally by the pool, tail wrapped around its paws, judging them.

"That's Mr. Chonkers," Jordan laughed. "My neighbor's cat. He always crashes parties."

The cat walked to the edge, dipped one paw in the water, and—the complete chaos that followed was inevitable. Someone screamed, the pyramid collapsed, and somehow Maya ended up tangled in Jordan's arms, her frizzy hair everywhere, both of them laughing so hard they couldn't breathe.

"Sorry about your hair," Jordan said later, when they were sitting on the edge, feet dangling in the water.

"It's always like this in summer," Maya said. "I've accepted my fate."

"It looks good though," he said, and the sincerity in his voice made her heart do something embarrassing.

Maybe electrocuted poodle hair wasn't so bad after all.