The Uninvited Guest

The chlorine stung my nose as I hovered at the edge of the pool, phone clutched in my hand like a lifeline. Everyone else was already splashing around, laughing like they'd been best friends since kindergarten. Meanwhile, I'd been standing there for twenty minutes, pretending to be absorbed in absolutely nothing on my iPhone.

"Maya! Get in already!" Sarah called from the water, dripping wet and completely unselfconscious.

"Just checking something!" I lied, my thumbs hovering over a blank screen.

That's when I felt it—a soft brush against my ankle. I froze. Slowly, I looked down.

My cat, Mango, sat there on the concrete, tail twitching, orange eyes fixed on the chaos in the water like she was judging everyone's life choices.

"No," I hissed. "Go home!"

Mango ignored me completely. She stood, stretched elaborately, and then—with the precision of a furry assassin—padded toward the pool's edge.

My heart stopped. Mango hated water. Mango also loved drama. This was about to be a disaster.

A freshman kid did a cannonball nearby, sending a wave sloshing over the edge. Mango leaped back, hissing, her dignity assaulted. Everyone turned to look.

"Is that... a cat?" someone asked.

"That's so random," another voice giggled.

I wanted to dissolve into the concrete. But then Sarah swam over, dripping and smiling. "OMG, she's so cute! Is she yours?"

"Yeah," I managed. "She kinda... followed me?"

"That's legendary," Sarah said, splashing water at Mango, who wisely retreated to a lounge chair. "Your cat has better social skills than half the people here."

People laughed. Not mean laughter—actual, genuine laughter. And suddenly, the knot in my chest loosened. I wasn't the awkward new girl anymore. I was the girl whose cat crashed a pool party.

"Whatever," I said, grinning as I finally tucked my iPhone under my towel. "She's basically the real guest of honor."

Mango settled onto the chair like she owned the place, watching me splash into the water, finally part of something.