Thunder Over The Pool

The first thing I noticed about Chloe's country club was how everyone already seemed to know each other. I stood by the edge of the pool clutching my towel like a security blanket while guys in Vineyard vines shirts did cannonballs and girls with perfect hair pretended not to notice them. My mom had practically pushed me out the car door like, "Make new friends, Maya! This is your fresh start!" Yeah right. Starting over sophomore year wasn't exactly a vibe.

"Hey, you gonna stand there all day or actually get in?" A guy with messy brown hair and crooked glasses smirked at me from the pool ladder. I recognized him—Marcus from my AP Bio class. The quiet one who sat in the back and drew comics in his notebook.

"Maybe," I said, lifting my chin. "What's it to you?"

He laughed. "Nothing. Just saying, the water's actually decent today. Unlike the padel tournament over there." He pointed toward the courts where a bunch of Chloe's friends were aggressively whacking balls and looking way too intense about it. "My dad forced me into joining. Said it'd build character or something."

"You play?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Badly. Very badly." He splashed water at me. "Your turn. You coming in or what?"

I jumped in, and the cool water was actually perfect. We floated around talking about how weird high school was, how Chloe's parties always felt like some weird social experiment, and how we both missed our old lives. Marcus was actually funny—like, genuinely hilarious, not performative funny like the guys trying way too hard to impress Chloe and her perfect friends.

Then the sky went dark. Like, scary dark.

"Everyone out! Now!" a lifeguard shouted.

We scrambled out just as the first bolt of lightning cracked across the sky, purple and electric and way too close. Everyone was running toward the clubhouse, screaming and laughing, but then I heard it—whining, frantic crying.

"Wait," I said, stopping dead.

"What?" Marcus asked, but then he heard it too.

A golden retriever puppy was trapped under one of the pool chairs, shaking so hard its whole body vibrated. Someone's dog had gotten loose and was absolutely terrified.

Without thinking, I dropped to my knees and crawled under the chair, murmuring soft nonsense words while Marcus distracted it with his soaked towel. Another lightning strike flashed, closer this time, making everything glow weird and purple. We managed to coax the puppy out, and I held it against my chest as we sprinted toward the clubhouse in the pouring rain.

"You're actually insane," Marcus said, but he was smiling.

"You helped," I pointed out.

"Yeah, well." He looked away. "Couldn't let you have all the glory."

Chloe's mom found us—me dripping wet with muddy knees, Marcus looking like a drowned rat, both of us protecting this terrified puppy. The owner was some little kid who'd been crying their eyes out, and suddenly I wasn't the new girl anymore. I was the person who saved their dog.

Marcus and I spent the rest of the storm in the game room, sharing a blanket and talking about everything and nothing while the puppy slept between us. When my mom picked me up later, I actually didn't want to leave.

"Did you make new friends?" she asked, all hopeful.

I thought about Marcus, about how he'd jumped into action without hesitating, about how he made me laugh more than anyone had in months.

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "I think I did."