Chlorine and Papara Skies

The invitation slid into my DMs at 11:47 PM: pool party at Jessica's house tomorrow. My hands shook as I typed "yes!!" with three too many exclamation points. This was it—my chance to finally talk to Marcus, who'd sat behind me in bio since freshman year, whose laugh sounded like sunshine breaking through clouds.

I spent three hours straightening my hair that probably looked better curly anyway. My papaya-scented lotion—some TikTok trend I'd fallen for—clashed with the sharp smell of chlorine as I stepped onto Jessica's deck. Everyone looked like they'd walked straight out of a Pinterest board. Then there was me, standing like I'd forgotten how to human.

"Hey, you made it!" Marcus materialized beside me, smelling like citrus and confidence. He held up a baseball mitt. "We're playing home run derby in the yard. You in?"

My brain short-circuited. "I, uh... I don't really—"

"She's in!" yelled Tyler, who'd been calling himself "The Bull" since seventh grade because he once tackled someone in football. Nobody else called him that. Ever. "Unless you're scared?"

Something in me snapped. Maybe it was the papaya lotion giving me false courage. "Bring it, Bull."

I'd never held a baseball bat in my life. The first pitch went past me so fast I nearly dislocated my neck spinning around. Everyone laughed—but not in a mean way. Marcus stepped closer, his hand covering mine on the bat.

"Relax," he said. "You're gripping it like it's a snake." His breath hitched when our eyes met. "Just... feel it. Let your body do the work."

I smacked the next ball into Jessica's garden. It knocked over her mom's prize papaya tree. The papaya—which I later learned cost eighty dollars—splattered everywhere like orange chaos.

Her dog, a tiny Yorkie named Brutus, immediately began eating the fallen fruit like it was his last meal on earth.

"BRUTUS, NO!" Jessica screamed. But it was too late. The dog was now zooming around the pool like a maniac, papaya everywhere.

Marcus dissolved into laughter, his eyes crinkling. "That was literally the most epic thing I've ever seen." He looked at me differently then. Like I was interesting. Like I was someone who did unexpected things.

"You're paying for that papaya!" Tyler yelled.

"Relax, Bull," I said, surprising myself. "I'll just tell my mom I discovered a new fruit. She's been trying to get me to eat healthy anyway."

Marcus laughed so hard he choked. By the end of the night, I was sitting on the pool's edge with him, feet in the water, chlorine stinging my papaya-smelling legs. Brutus was passed out beside us, belly full of expensive fruit.

"You know," Marcus said quietly, "I'm glad you came. You're not like everyone else."

I watched my pale legs reflect in the pool water, thinking about how I'd spent all day trying to fit in, only to standout by destroying a tree and accidentally feeding a dog exotic fruit.

"Yeah," I said. "Me too."