Wet Feet, Dry Friends

The pool smelled like chlorine and panic. Same as yesterday.

Maya stood at the edge, toes curling against the slippery tiles. Behind her, Chloe's voice cut through the humid air.

"You're literally trembling, Maya. It's water, not a shark tank." Chloe laughed, but her eyes were already scanning the pool deck for someone more interesting to talk to.

That was the thing about Chloe—she was only your friend when it was convenient, when there wasn't anyone cooler around. And now that the swim team captain was doing laps nearby, Chloe had suddenly forgotten Maya existed.

Maya's heart hammered. She'd been running from this moment since she agreed to join the team. Two weeks of pretending she could swim. Two weeks of changing in the bathroom stall, claiming she forgot her suit, arriving late to practice.

But today was the day. Coach Reynolds wanted to see everyone's freestyle.

"Simmons! You're up!" Coach's voice boomed.

Maya's legs felt like lead. She could keep running, keep making excuses. But then she'd have to quit, and she'd have to explain to her parents why she'd wasted the signup fee. And honestly? She was tired of running.

She stepped onto the starting block. The water shimmered below her, blue and terrifying and endless.

She dove.

The shock of cold water swallowed her whole. For a second, she couldn't tell up from down. Her lungs burned. This was it—this was how she went out, drowning during freshman swim practice, max humiliation.

Then something clicked. Her arms found a rhythm. Her legs kicked. She broke the surface, gasping, and somehow kept moving. Stroke, breathe. Stroke, breathe.

She wasn't fast. She wasn't graceful. But she was doing it.

When she finally touched the wall, chest heaving, Coach Reynolds nodded. "Not terrible, Simmons. We can work with that."

Maya pulled herself out of the pool, water streaming down her face. She looked for Chloe, but her former friend was already halfway across the deck, flirting with the captain. Neither of them glanced in Maya's direction.

And honestly? That was fine.

Maya grabbed her towel. Her arms ached. Her eyes stung from chlorine. She'd barely made it across one length of the pool.

But she wasn't running anymore.