Watch Me Disappear

good party.”
    I roll my eyes. “Your parties are outside in the woods. You don’t have to worry about people breaking shit or spilling all over the furniture.”
    “True,” he says, “but I do have to worry about people falling off cliffs or breaking their ankles on a tree root on the path. And I have to haul all the empties and shit all the way down to the house.”
    I hadn’t thought about that.
    “So you didn’t feel like going to the prom?” he asks.
    “It’s all just a waste of money,” I say.
    “Nah. It’s part of the high school experience. I’m not sure you can call yourself an American if you haven’t been through these rituals.”
    “So are you and Jessica a thing?”
    “You’re kidding, right? She’ll look great in the pictures, but she’s about as smart as an empty cup. I need a girl I can have a conversation with.”
    “I see.”
    “I would have gladly taken you to the prom, you know,” he says.
    “Oh,” I say.
    He steps in closer to me so that I have to look up. He is one of those tall gangly kids who hasn’t even begun to fill out yet. He has freckles all over his face, but he has nice eyes, very round but slightly turned down at the corners. Would it be so bad to let him kiss me?
    “I like you,” he says softly.
    “You don’t even know me,” I say, stepping back a little.
    “Let’s see,” he says, turning and leaning against Maura’s stepdad’s SUV. “You’re ridiculously smart, you’re cute, and you’d rather not be in the spotlight,” he says.
    “I’m not that smart and no one’s ever called me cute and meant it, but you’re right about the spotlight.” I cross my arms.
    “Well, I think you’re cute, and you’re a heck of a lot smarter than me, which I like.”
    Unfortunately, I don’t like dopey guys. I just shake my head.
    “If we stay out here too much longer, someone will notice we’re both missing, and you know what they’ll think,” he says.
    “So what are you suggesting?” It seems to me that he is suggesting we make out and fulfill the prophecies of rumor that will spread if anyone realizes we are both absent from the party. I seriously doubt anyone will notice.
    “That we might be missing the best part of the party,” he says, pushing himself away from the car.
    I follow him back inside. Everyone has migrated out to the pool deck. It got pretty stuffy in the house, but it is nice outside and the sky is clear and starry. I scan the crowd, but I don’t see Maura. I also don’t see Jason, but the thugs are standing at the keg. I ask them if they’ve seen Maura and they laugh and grunt a response. Maura and Jason are inside. I can take a hint, so I don’t go looking for them.
    A big burly guy walks out to the middle of the diving board. “Who’s going in first?” His voice carries easily across the water. A few people laugh. “Come on!” he says. “Let’s get this party started!” More laughter, but no one moves. “Ah, you all suck,” he says, turning and walking back down the diving board.
    Just then Maura comes out onto the deck. She has on tiny shorts and a camisole. Her face is flushed and her eyes look huge and wet. “Everybody having fun?” she asks, walking past the keg and around the edge of the pool. “What’s a pool party without a splash in the pool?” Her words slur a little. Then she walks out onto the diving board. A few people hoot, and somebody whistles. Every eye is on Maura. She bounces a little on the board, and then she stops and turns around, walking back toward the deck. A few people boo, but she just sticks a hand out in a “wait” gesture. At the back of the diving board, she grabs the bottom of her camisole and pulls the shirt up, over her head, revealing her sunken stomach, bony rib cage, and bare, small breasts. Some girls giggle, and some guys whistle. She runs a hand through her hair and then reaches down and slips her little shorts off, flicking them from her foot. Her hip bones look like sharpened weapons protruding from her body. Nobody makes a sound. She steps back up onto the diving board, walks to the edge, and dives in with a great bounce. Everyone is too stupefied to respond. They stare at the surface of the water where Maura disappeared, or at the sky, or at each other. Then somebody starts applauding.
    “Isn’t anyone going to join me?” Maura says, swimming toward the shallow end of the pool.
    “Hells yeah,” one of the guys I don’t know yells, leaping into the water