Cannonballs and Courage

Marcus stood at the edge of Jasmine's pool, his **orange** swim trunks feeling suddenly way too bright. Like, why did his mom have to buy the color that screamed 'LOOK AT ME' when he was trying to be lowkey?

Everyone else was already **swimming**—even Tyler, who'd spent the last ten minutes flexing his 'totally natural' abs. Marcus gripped the strap of his goggles, heart beating like he'd just finished **running** a marathon instead of just standing there sweating.

"Yo Marcus, you gonna jump or what?" Tyler called, doing some splashy thing that made water fly everywhere. Jasmine's little brother pointed and laughed, and Marcus felt his face heating up. This was it—the moment that would define his entire summer. Maybe his entire life.

He looked at the **palm** tree near the fence, its fronds swaying in the breeze like they were judging him. Why was this so hard? It was just water. Just jump. Just—

"Here." Jasmine appeared beside him, holding out a slice of fruit. "Wanna try? My mom went shopping at that fancy market again."

Marcus blinked. "Is that... **papaya**?"

"Yeah, it's actually decent. Don't knock it 'til you try it." She smiled, and his stomach did that annoying fluttery thing.

He took the slice, took a bite—and stopped. It wasn't terrible. Actually, it was kind of... good? Sweet but not too sweet, with this weird soft texture that somehow worked.

"See?" Jasmine bumped his shoulder with hers. "Sometimes the stuff you think you'll hate turns out being your favorite. Like Tyler's parties, honestly. They seem overwhelming but everyone's just trying to look cool and failing."

Marcus looked at the pool, at Tyler now doing a terrible attempt at a handstand, at everyone just vibing and not actually watching him. He swallowed the papaya, took a deep breath, and sprinted toward the edge.

CANNONBALL.

Water erupted everywhere. He surfaced to cheers and high-fives, and when Jasmine jumped in beside him, grinning, Marcus realized something: maybe the scariest moments were just regular moments waiting to happen. And sometimes, you just had to take the jump.