Thunder in My Palm

My palms were sweating. Like, actually sweating through my grip on the pool deck's edge. I'd been staring at Maya for twenty minutes—ten of those pretending to check my phone like I had important texts instead of just staring at my lock screen.

"You gonna get in or what?" Tyler called from the deep end, splashing water everywhere like a golden retriever who'd discovered joy. "水温's perfect, bro. Stop being such a wuss."

I wasn't scared of **swimming**. I was scared of Maya noticing I'd spent the entire spring training for track, my arms somehow still looking like noodles. Meanwhile, she'd just finished diving season and looked like she'd been carved out of confidence and muscle.

Then Maya swam over to the edge, pulling herself up with one smooth motion, water cascading down her shoulders. The way **lightning** strikes and suddenly everything's illuminated—that was her. Every time.

"Hey, Leo," she said. "You good?"

My brain short-circuited. This was it. The moment. I'd been **running** scenarios in my head for weeks. What would I say? Something cool. Something chill. Something that didn't sound like I'd rehearsed it in my mirror at 2 AM.

"Y-yeah," I managed, and immediately wanted to dissolve into the pool water. "Just... you know."

"Cool," she said. Then she frowned, leaning closer. "You have something in your teeth."

My soul left my body. That thing that happens in nightmares where you show up to school naked? That feeling. This was it, but worse. This was real.

I touched my tooth, praying she was messing with me. Nope. There it was. A tiny green piece of **spinach**, wedged between my front teeth like a little green flag of shame.

FROM THE DIP I'D HAD THREE HOURS AGO.

"Oh my god," I whispered. "How long—"

"Since I got here," Maya said, and then she laughed. Not mean laughing. The other kind.

"And you didn't say anything?" I covered my mouth with my hand.

"I mean," she shrugged, droplets falling from her hair, "it was kind of growing on me. Made you look... distinguished."

Tyler started yelling something about chicken fights, and Maya looked back at me, her eyes bright. "You wanna pair up? Since you're not doing anything else besides dying inside?"

I wiped my teeth with my thumb. My **palm** was still shaking a little, but the embarrassment had shifted into something else. Something lighter.

"Yeah," I said, finally sliding into the pool. "Let's do it."

Sometimes the worst moments aren't the end. Sometimes they're just the beginning. And sometimes, you realize everyone's too busy worrying about themselves to notice the stuff you're convinced will ruin your life.

Okay, except the spinach thing. That was objectively bad.

But the rest? The rest was gonna be okay.