The Unexpected Ally

The pool party was exactly as Maya had dreaded — blinding sunlight reflecting off the water, popular kids clustered in perfect Instagram formations, and her stuck in the corner clutching a red Solo cup like it contained the antidote to social death. She'd only come because her older sister had insisted, "You're fifteen, Maya. You can't spend Friday night watching Netflix forever."

"Literally dying," someone nearby said, and Maya felt a kinship with the sentiment.

She was calculating the minimum amount of time required before she could peace out without looking like a total loser when a screech interrupted the party playlist. A cat — a mangy orange tabby that looked like it had seen better decades — stood on the diving board, tail puffed like a bottle brush, hissing at anyone who approached.

"Someone get that thing out of here!" shouted Brett, the guy whose house this was. "It's gonna ruin the vibe."

Maya watched as people backed away, neither wanting to touch the feral intruder nor be the person who killed the party vibe. The cat's yellow eyes scanned the hostile territory, clearly not understanding that this was supposed to be fun.

Without thinking, Maya set her cup down and walked toward the pool. The water rippled as the cat's claws slipped on the diving board, and then — splash.

The cat hit the water with a flail of wet fur and panic. Someone gasped. Someone else giggled.

Maya didn't think. She didn't calculate how this would look. She just jumped in.

The water shocked her system as she grabbed the scruff of the cat's neck, hauling both of them toward the pool's edge. Strong hands grabbed her arms, pulling her up while she clutched the dripping, furious bundle against her chest.

"That was... actually pretty badass," said a girl with purple streaks in her hair, grabbing a towel. "I'm Riley."

"Maya." She shivered, trying to wring out her shirt while the orange cat shook water all over Brett's pristine patio.

Riley wrapped a towel around the cat. "Wanna help me dry this beast? I think he's officially my new best friend."

Maya looked at the dripping cat, at Riley's genuine smile, at the party that somehow seemed less terrifying. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

By midnight, they'd named the cat Chaos, discovered they both hated the word "literally," and exchanged numbers. The pool party had been objectively terrible, but somehow, Maya had found exactly what she hadn't known she needed.