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On the last day of school, Laney was invited to an end of the year pool party. She didn’t really want to go, she wanted to hang out with Shane while pretending that she didn’t want to be hanging out with Shane. It was her favourite game, acting like she couldn’t care less that he was there while secretly obsessively replaying the feeling of his mouth on hers all those months ago. But she’d been feeling lonely, and said yes.

The girl, Holly, had been talking about it in class. Her folks had just finished a fancy new pool with hardscape – she had said the word hardscape at least a hundred times – and she wanted everyone to come over afterwards.

“I didn’t bring a bathing suit,” Kyle complained.

“So just go in your boxers!” Holly had said with a wink.

Kyle looked at Laney. “Are you coming?”

Laney looked up from her notebook, surprised. The other kids didn’t really talk to her much; she mostly kept her head down, headphones on, extra batteries in her backpack for her Walkman always at the ready.

“Um… Am I invited?” she asked.

Holly looked like she wanted to say no, but Kyle interrupted. “Of course you are. Come, it’ll be fun.”

“Well alright then…”

They walked to Holly’s in a group, more kids joining them as they made their way to her house. It was a big executive style place in the new subdivision. Laney thought it was kind of ironic that a house with that much marble had a view of the Walmart parking lot but didn’t say anything.

Several of the kids had dropped their bags, stripping off their shirts and diving in or doing cannonballs. Others were waiting to change in the bathroom, having brought their swimsuits.

Laney’s headphones were on but hanging around her neck, unidentifiable music pouring out of them. She sat at the edge of the pool, her bare legs hanging over the side, and swished her feet through the water.

“What are you listening to?” Kyle asked, pulling himself up onto the side and sitting beside her, his plaid boxers dripping wet.

“Alice in Chains,” she said.

"Can I have a listen?”

Laney handed him the headphones and he popped them on, nodding along for a few minutes, before handing them back.

“Kinda heavy, eh?”

“Not really,” she said.

They sat awkwardly for a moment, before he cleared his throat. “So… are you going to go swimming?”

Laney hesitated, but there were other girls swimming in their shorts and bras. She wouldn’t be the only one. Why not, she thought.

She stood up and pulled her Temple of the Dog t-shirt up over her head, tossing it on her backpack. She was wearing a thin cotton training-style bra, her boobs too small to really bother with anything fancy like some of the other girls had on with lace and underwire, but it was purple with little spaghetti straps and she thought it was cute enough.

Kyle seemed to agree, as he was staring at her belly button ring, his cheeks pink.

A few other kids were looking at her, some of the boys obviously checking her out, and she grimaced at the surprise on their faces.

Did they think I had leprosy under my shirt or something?

Holly was glowering from the corner, holding a bowl of chips.

She walked over to the ladder and lowered herself into the cool water. It was refreshing, washing away the muggy June heat from the sticky, humid portables. Kyle slipped back into the water, swimming alongside her.

“You don’t say much,” he said.

She just looked at him.

He smiled and let his body float up like a starfish as she tread water lazily beside him. He was cute, nice. Floppy brown hair, freckles, a wide mouth that was always smiling, surprisingly muscular for his age. He was well liked, despite his terrible back acne, always surrounded by friends in class, chatting easily and cracking jokes. He was on the hockey team, and seemed like he was… easy. Just an easy person to be around, easy to like.

Holly waded into the pool in an aquamarine bikini with sparkling crystal straps, swimming towards them like a shark.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Holly asked, glaring at her.

Kyle sat up in the water, looking at her with interest.

“No,” she said.

“I could have sworn you had a boyfriend. Some guy named Sean or something. Older. Punched one of the teachers.”

Kyle frowned, glancing back and forth between her and Holly.

“Nope, definitely don’t have a boyfriend.”

Another girl swam over, her long black hair piled high on top of her head to keep it dry.

“No, no I remember that guy!” she said. “The one who punched the office window. He told Holly he was looking for you!”

“Ugh, he was so hot,” said a third girl. “If he’s not your boyfriend, can I have his number?”

“Shut up, Chelsea,” Holly grumbled.

“You remember, Marianne?” Chelsea squealed. “You said you’d dump Connor for him.” She giggled. The dark-haired girl blushed but didn’t deny it and Laney fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Seriously,” Chelsea continued, “I want your life. All the guys look like magazine covers, or something.”

“Guys?” Laney asked, confused. “What guys?”

“Your brother,” Marianne chimed in.

“Dustin? He’s eleven.”

“No, no, the other one. The blonde one, ” Chelsea said.

“How do you know my brother?” Laney asked, her eyes narrowing.

Chelsea and Marianne giggled again. “He showed up to help fix the school bus earlier this year. When we broke down on Yonge. Holly, you remember?” Holly looked like she was going to snap their necks. “You went over to talk to him and he said his sister was in our grade. You asked who his sister was – ”

“Yes, I remember!” Holly snapped.

“Wait, I was there that day. When the bus broke down,” Kyle said slowly. “There were a couple of guys, they showed up with a tow truck…” He looked at Laney, wariness on his face now. “Is your brother Cary?”

“Yes! Cary! That was totally his name!” Marianne crooned. Kyle paled and swam a little farther from Laney. “Do you know him, Kyle?”

“Yeah,” he said shortly, eyeing Laney uncomfortably.

The girls tittered mindlessly for a while, Holly burning a hole into the back of Laney’s head. Kyle drifted away, picking up a volleyball and joining a game with some other boys.

He didn’t look at her again.