The Riddle of Saturday Night

Maya stood at the edge of the pool, clutching her red solo cup like a lifeline. The **water** glittered under the string lights, but she felt about as buoyant as a stone. Everyone else was already in, splashing and laughing like they'd been born in it.

"You coming in or what?" called Jake, the guy she'd been crushing on since September. He was treading water, looking annoyingly confident.

"Yeah, just... gotta finish my drink," Maya lied. The cup had been empty for ten minutes.

Behind her, Chloe leaned in. "You're overthinking it. Just be like a **fox**—sly, smooth, slip in when nobody's watching."

Maya snorted. "Since when are you the expert on smooth?"

Chloe flipped her hair. "I have my moments. Also, I saw you staring at Jake. He's not going to bite."

"But what if I say something dumb? What if I —"

"What if you just jump in? Literally?" Chloe pushed her.

Maya yelped as she tumbled forward, crashing into the pool with an ungraceful splash. When she surfaced, sputtering water, Jake was laughing. But not, like, mean laughing. He was swimming toward her.

"Finally! I was about to send a search party."

Something shifted. Maybe it was the **water** streaming down her face, ruining her mascara. Maybe it was the way Jake's eyes crinkled when he smiled. But the heavy knot in her chest loosened.

"I wasn't hiding," she said, treading water now. "I was just... strategically assessing the situation."

"Is that what we're calling it?" He swam closer. "Because I've been trying to get you to talk to me all week."

"You have?"

"Who do you think kept leaving those sphinx riddles in your locker?"

Maya froze. "THAT was you? The ones that were like, 'What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?'"

"Yeah. I thought it was a cool way to... you know. Start a conversation." He looked suddenly shy. "Was it weird?"

"It was adorable," she said, and immediately wanted to die from using the word adorable.

Jake's face lit up anyway.

Chloe, watching from the edge, mouthed 'you're welcome' and slipped away into the crowd like the **fox** she claimed to be.

Maya took a breath. The **water** around her felt different now—less like a barrier, more like a bridge. She wasn't just treading water anymore. She was diving in.