Breathing in Shallow Water

Cassie pretended not to notice Jeremy across the cafeteria, but her phone told a different story. Every lunch break, she found herself going full spy mode—scrolling through his Instagram stories, decoding every caption like it contained the secrets to the universe. Jeremy Martinez, varsity baseball star, walked around like he owned the hallway oxygen supply. Meanwhile, Cassie was just the quiet girl who smelled like chlorine and spent her afternoons swimming laps until her arms turned to jelly.

"You're literally obsessed," Maya whispered, sliding into the seat beside her. "Just talk to him already."

"Hard pass," Cassie said, though her face betrayed her. "He's out of my league. He's basically TikTok famous, and I'm the girl whose goldfish died because she forgot to feed it for three days."

Mayo snorted. "That fish was already ancient, Cass. Also, you're forgetting you made regionals for swimming. That's legit."

Cassie shrugged. Swimming was her escape, the only place where her anxiety didn't feel like a weight tied to her ankle. But baseball season had just started, which meant Jeremy was everywhere—posters in the hallway, mentions in the morning announcements, constantly surrounded by his jock squad. Cassie felt like she was swimming laps in a goldfish bowl while everyone else played in the ocean.

Then came the day she saw him at the pool.

She'd stayed late, practicing her butterfly stroke until the water felt like second skin. When she pulled herself out of the pool, Jeremy was sitting on the bleachers, awkwardly holding a clipboard.

"You're Cassie, right?" He sounded almost nervous. "I'm doing a project for econ class about local businesses, and I'm interviewing the community center manager. She said you practically live here."

Cassie's brain short-circuited. This was NOT in her carefully analyzed simulation of possible interactions.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I swim here. A lot." She mentally facepalmed. Smooth.

Jeremy actually laughed. "I tried swimming once. Nearly drowned. Props to you for making it look easy. Meanwhile, I can only hit a baseball if it literally comes at me in slow motion."

They talked for twenty minutes. About everything. About how running track in middle school had given him shin splints. About how Cassie's anxiety made every social interaction feel like walking through a minefield. He admitted he stalked her swimming times online after seeing her name on the community center bulletin board.

"Wait, YOU spied on MY times?" Cassie couldn't help grinning. "I thought I was the creep in this situation."

"Titular creep status," Jeremy said, and his smile was actually kind of perfect. "So, Friday. My baseball game. You should come. I'll save you a seat."

"In the dugout?" Cassie teased, her heart doing somersaults.

"If you're lucky." He winked. "If not, I'll sit with you in the bleachers. Away from the normies."

Walking home later, Cassie felt lighter than she had in months. Maybe she wasn't a goldfish in a bowl after all. Maybe she was just learning to breathe in deeper water.