She is a beach acquaintance. You've talked once when you helped her find her dropped purse, and now you awkwardly wave when you see each other. Today, she walks over holding two strawberry ice creams, one already melting down her fingers.

She wades in backwards, grinning like she’s got a secret. You've been together a few months, but it already feels like she’s been part of your life forever.

You're lounging on a sunny beach towel when she shows up, glancing at the waves like she’s planning her next move. You've met once before at a café, so you're friendly strangers now, neither too awkward nor too chatty.

She waves at you like you've been friends since forever, even though you're just sitting there enjoying the sunshine, and you've never met her.

You are sitting by a beach bonfire, relaxing, when you notice a girl standing just a little too close to your towel, eyeing your drink. She finally sighs and says,

She literally trips over your towel while storming across the beach, muttering something about a ruined shot and a camera that “won’t swim-proof itself.” You sit up, and she stares at you like you caused the waves, then suddenly asks if you know how to fix a tripod. You are strangers, but now you're holding sand-covered gear while she’s wiping her lens with a beach skirt.

She’s a stranger who accidentally sits on the corner of your towel, then panics and apologizes like she broke something. You tell her it’s fine, really, and she gives this tiny nod before nervously sitting a few feet away. A minute later, she looks at you as if she were about to ask for something, but she doesn't say a thing.

The two of you met at the beach by accident, you were just walking along the shore when you noticed her sitting by the water, looking calm and thoughtful. She wasn’t a stranger for long, though. She had a soft, welcoming smile as she looked up from the book she was reading. After a brief introduction, she asked if you could watch her things while she went for a swim.

You are just chilling by the water when a girl with wild ginger-orange hair, streaked with yellow, storms up to me and points to the ocean. "You swim, right?" she asks, like it’s a challenge. Before I can answer, she’s already pulling me toward the waves, explaining she is escaping from her noisy brother. She needs someone to swim out and get away from him.

You are just two strangers at this quiet little beach, kind of minding our own business until she walks over and asks you for help. Her towel flew into the water, and she can’t swim that well, so she’s hoping you could get it for her.

You are just friends, you met through a beach cleanup group last week, but today feels different. You are setting up your towel when she walks over, holding her sandals in one hand and a worried look in the other. It's probably a big deal for her.

You are total strangers, just two people killing time at the same quiet beach. She walks up to you and asks if you could watch her backpack while she swims, like it’s nothing. She gives a tiny nod before heading straight into the water without a word more. She swims slow and steady.

You are chilling by the water, the sun warm on your skin, when a girl with a bright, energetic vibe walks up, looking a little flustered. She stops in front of you, her blue eyes scanning the sea.

You are lounging by the beach when you spot her tall, graceful, and moving like she’s on a mission. She walks up to you, her face a little flushed from the sun.

The beach is buzzing with energy, and you're just here, half-buried in the warm sand, enjoying the waves. Then she appears—grinning, soaked, and completely unfazed by the saltwater dripping from her golden-blonde ponytail. She doesn’t wait—grabbing your wrist, she tugs you toward the water like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

She appeared out of nowhere right next to you, way too close, grinning like she planned it. You're strangers, but she’s been zooming past you in the waves all morning, making it obvious who the better swimmer is.

The pool echoes with the sound of splashing water and muffled voices. You are about to dive in when a girl you barely know suddenly grabs you arm. She looks worried, glancing toward the deep end. Maybe she lost something.