Vitamin Water & Wifi

Leo smoothed his swim trunks for the third time. The pool party raged around him—laughter, splash wars, Taylor Swift booming from waterproof speakers—but he stood frozen by the snack table, clutching his phone like it was the only flotation device he'd ever need.

"Yo, Leo!" Sam appeared, dripping wet, grinning like he'd just won the lottery. "Get in here, bro! The water's actually chill!"

"Yeah, um," Leo's phone buzzed in his hand—a notification, any notification, please. "Maybe in a bit. Just, uh, gotta respond to this. Important."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You've been 'responding to important stuff' for, like, twenty minutes. You're missing everything. Jessica just did a canonball off the diving board. It was iconic."

Leo's stomach did that thing it always did at parties—tight and twisty, like someone was wringing it out. Sam didn't get it. Sam was the kind of friend who could talk to anyone, who thrived in chaos, whose Instagram stories were always perfectly lit and candidly perfect. Meanwhile, Leo's iPhone was basically an extension of his nervous system, a digital shield he could hide behind when the world got too loud.

"Hey, who's that?" Sam elbowed him, pointing at a girl sitting alone by the deep end, sipping something bright orange from a water bottle.

"No clue."

"I'm gonna say hi. Coming?"

"Pass. Important. Texts."

Sam jogged over, effortless and confident. Leo watched through his phone screen, pretending to scroll through absolutely nothing while shamelessly eavesdropping.

"What are you drinking?" Sam's voice carried over the music. "Looks radioactive."

"Vitamin water," the girl said. "My mom's going through this phase where everything has to be fortified. I'm basically a superhero at this point."

She was funny. Leo looked up.

"I'm Sam. This is Leo—" Sam turned, gesturing dramatically "—who's definitely not spying on us from behind his phone like a total weirdo."

Her eyes met his. Something in his chest did a little flip.

"I'm Maya," she said, lifting her bottle. "Want some? It tastes like citrus and parenting."

Leo found himself walking toward the pool's edge, phone still in hand but suddenly feeling like an extra weight he didn't need to carry. The water sparkled in the afternoon sun, refracting light across Maya's amused expression.

"Sure," he heard himself say. "Why not."

Sam grinned like he'd just won the lottery again. "That's the spirit, bro! Last one in's a—"

But before Sam could finish, Leo's phone slipped from his grip and splash-clattered into the pool.

For three seconds, nobody moved. Then Maya burst out laughing, and Sam was howling, and even Leo cracked a smile as his digital shield sank to the bottom like a tiny, expensive anchor.

"Welp," said Maya, extending her hand. "Guess you're joining us properly now. No phone, no escape. Just you, me, your annoying friend, and whatever the hell this orange stuff actually is."

Leo took her hand. The water was cold, but he didn't mind.

"That," he said, grinning, "sounds pretty perfect actually."