Chlorine Dreams

The backyard pool glowed with that fake-blue underwater light, like something from a dreams I kept having but could never remember. My cousin's graduation party. Everyone from school was here, somehow, even though we went to different schools. I stood by the snack table, clutching a bottle of orange juice like it was some kind of magic potion that could make me invisible.

'Hey, aren't you gonna swim?' Sarah asked, appearing beside me like she'd teleported. Sarah Miller, who I'd had a crush on since seventh grade, who was now wearing this swimsuit that made my brain glitch.

'I, uh—'

'Save it for someone who cares, loser,' her friend Jenna said, and they both laughed. Not mean laughing, just the kind that makes you realize you don't exist in their universe. I turned back to my orange juice, reading the nutrition facts like they contained the secret to not being awkward forever. Vitamin C, 100%. At least something was working at full capacity tonight.

That's when the cat appeared. A calico that looked like it had seen things, weaving through legs and jumping onto the snack table with zero hesitation. It knocked over a bag of chips, then stared at me like I was the weird one.

I reached out slowly, half-expecting it to hiss or bolt. Instead, it pressed its head against my palm, making this sound like a tiny motor. We stood there, me and this random cat, while everyone else splashed and screamed and lived their best teenage lives. The cat purred like it knew exactly who it was and didn't give a damn what anyone thought.

'Midas likes you,' someone said. I looked up. Sarah. Alone. 'He's usually super skittish.' She reached out and scratched behind his ears. 'Cool party, right?'

'Yeah,' I said. 'Pretty epic.'

She smiled, and something in my chest did this weird flutter thing. 'Wanna swim?' she asked. 'I promise not to let you drown.'

Midas jumped down and trotted away like his work was done. I took a breath, actually looked at the pool, the people, the lights reflecting off the water. 'Yeah,' I said. 'Yeah, I'd like that.'

Sometimes you don't need a magic potion. Sometimes you just need a cat to remind you that existing is enough.