The Summer I Learned to Float

The pool party at Jake's house was supposed to be my big moment. You know, the one where I finally stopped being the quiet girl who sat in the corner reading while everyone else played spin the bottle. But instead, I was currently hiding behind a bush, watching my childhood dog Buster—my mom's ancient golden retriever who'd somehow followed me here—sniff suspiciously at a discarded spinach wrap near the cabana.

"You gonna come out, or what?"

I jumped. Maya leaned against the fence, her fox-red hair dripping wet from the pool. She was the kind of pretty that made your brain stutter, like a buffered video. The kind of pretty I'd been writing terrible poetry about since seventh grade.

"Just, you know," I stammered. "Taking a breather."

She smirked. "Jake's been telling everyone about his swimming scholarship. Again. It's actually painful."

The patio was filled with people from school—most of whom I barely spoke to. Jake was holding court near the diving board, gesturing wildly like he was describing some epic tale, when suddenly his expression went slack. His older brother Max, who everyone knew was full of bull 99% of the time, had just announced something that made the whole group go quiet.

"I'm not going to college," Max said, like he was commenting on the weather. "I'm joining the Peace Corps."

Jake's face fell. For weeks, he'd been bragging about following in his brother's footsteps at State. Now the footsteps were leading somewhere completely different.

Maya grabbed my hand. Her palm was warm against mine. "Wanna bet ten bucks he doesn't last through orientation?"

I laughed, surprised. "You're on."

"Come swimming," she said, pulling me toward the pool. "Jake's brother might be full of it, but at least he made things interesting."

That summer, I didn't become the most popular girl in school. I didn't win a scholarship or have a dramatic romance. But I did make a friend who made me laugh until I snorted, and I learned that sometimes the most interesting moments happen when you stop hiding behind bushes and actually jump in the water—even if it's cold and everyone's watching and you're pretty sure your dog is eating someone's abandoned lunch on the other side of the fence.

Buster never did get sick from that spinach wrap, by the way. Some dogs have all the luck.