Chlorine and Commissions

Marcus stood at the edge of the pool, clutching his designer water bottle like it was a lifeline. Or maybe like it was the stupidest purchase he'd ever made, which was definitely saying something considering he owned three different gaming headsets.

"You ready or what?" Jordan called from the pool deck, already surrounded by his usual entourage. Jordan was the kind of guy who'd somehow convinced half the sophomore class that buying overpriced vitamin-infused water was basically the same as investing in crypto. Marcus had fallen for it too, obviously.

"Yeah," Marcus said, even though he absolutely wasn't.

The entire situation felt like one giant pyramid scheme, which was hilarious because Jordan kept insisting it was "multi-level entrepreneurship." Whatever that meant. Marcus had already blown his entire summer job money on inventory that was currently taking up way too much space in his garage.

"Yo, Marcus!" Jordan waved him over. "Tell Sarah about the wellness benefits."

Sarah, who Marcus had been lowkey crushing on since seventh grade, raised an eyebrow. "Wellness benefits?"

Marcus's brain short-circuited. Something about electrolytes. Or antioxidants. Or how the water was sourced from some magical spring in Iceland that definitely didn't exist.

"It's got... vitamins?" he managed, which was arguably the most pathetic sales pitch in human history.

Sarah laughed, but not in a mean way. "I've heard that one before."

"My cousin tried to get me into that," said Tyler, drifting over on a pool noodle. "He said I'd be making six figures by junior year. Last I heard, he's still working at Subway."

The group cracked up. Jordan's face did this microscopic twitch thing.

"It's not like that," Jordan said tightly. "This is different."

"Is it?" Sarah looked at Marcus. "What do you think?"

And here's the thing—Marcus had been so desperate to be part of Jordan's crowd, so desperate to climb the social ladder that he couldn't even see how ridiculous the whole thing was. But standing there, with chlorine stinging his nose and Sarah actually waiting for his answer...

"Honestly?" Marcus said. "I think I just wanted a friend who actually gave a shit about me. Not my money."

The silence that followed was actually kind of glorious.

"Well," Sarah said, sliding her sunglasses down. "I've got this massive float shaped like a flamingo. And I've been looking for someone who doesn't suck to help me raid the snack bar."

"Only if they have actual water," Marcus said. "The kind that costs like, two dollars."

"Deal."

Later, floating in the deep end with Sarah and some people he'd actually just met, Marcus realized something: the best things in life aren't the ones you have to sell. They're the ones that just float your way.