Bear Market at the Pool

Liam stood at the edge of the pool, clutching his iPhone like a lifeline. The screen reflected his nervous expression—groups of people laughing, splashing, being effortlessly cool. Meanwhile, he was stuck calculating the risk-reward ratio of actually getting in the water versus staying dry and socially invisible.

"Yo, Liam!" Jake called out, doing a cannonball that sent water spraying everywhere. "Stop staring at your phone like it's got the answers to life."

Liam shoved the iPhone in his pocket. His mom had made him promise to actually socialize this summer, something about his vitamin D deficiency from spending too much time in his room gaming. She'd even bought him those disgusting gummy vitamins that tasted like artificial orange and regret.

"I'm good," Liam lied, adjusting his shirt like it might somehow make him less awkward.

Jake surfaced, shaking water everywhere like a wet dog. "Bro, you're overthinking it. Just jump in. Worst case, you get wet. Best case, you actually talk to Mia."

Speaking of Mia—she was by the shallow end, looking unfairly stunning in her swimsuit. Liam's stomach did something that felt distinctly bear market, all crashing values and panic selling.

"What if I—" Liam started.

"What if you what? Make a fool of yourself?" Jake laughed. "Bro, last week you did a faceplant in the cafeteria and got up like you meant to do it. You're basically bulletproof."

Liam snorted despite himself. That had been legendary, actually. His friends had compared his recovery to a bull run—unexpected confidence after a catastrophic failure.

"Fine," Liam said. He pulled off his shirt, feeling everyone's eyes on him. One deep breath. Another. And then he was jumping, cool water swallowing him whole, emerging somewhere between the shallow and deep ends, sputtering and wiping water from his eyes.

Mia was right there. smiling. "Took you long enough."

"Calculating my entry strategy," Liam said before he could overthink it.

She laughed, and it was the best sound he'd heard all summer. "Well, analyst, what's your verdict?"

Liam looked around—at Jake giving him thumbs up, at the way the pool water caught the late afternoon light, at Mia still waiting for his answer like she actually cared.

"Bull market," Liam said, grinning. "Definitely bullish."

His phone buzzed in his discarded clothes—probably his mom asking if he'd taken his vitamins. Some things didn't change. But as Mia splashed him, and he splashed back, and for once he wasn't calculating risks or worrying about looking cool—Liam figured this summer might actually be different.