Fox at the Pool Party

The varsity **baseball** team hung out by the **pool** like they owned it — which they basically did. They sat at the top of the social **pyramid**, and I was somewhere near the bottom, probably near the diving board where no one wanted to be seen.

"Yo Tyler, you coming?" Marcus called from the cabana. He was captain, shortstop, and somehow still found time to sell everyone those weird **vitamin** supplements his mom's MLM pushed. "We're doing shots... of Gatorade."

I froze. This was it. The moment. If I played it cool, maybe I'd finally stop being the kid who ate lunch alone in the library freshman year.

But then I saw it — a real fox, straight-up orange and electric, tail twitching at the edge of the woods. It looked at me like it knew something I didn't.

The fox dipped its paw in the pool, then bolted.

"Yo, Tyler!"

I followed the fox instead.

Behind the pool house, past the old shed, through a hole in the fence that led to the creek nobody talked about. The fox stopped on a rock, watching me.

"What?" I whispered. "You judging me too?"

The fox tilted its head. And then — I swear — it dipped its paw in the creek and splashed water at me.

I laughed. Actually laughed.

Back at the party, Marcus and his pyramid could wait. I was busy making friends with the only real thing at that whole party.

My phone buzzed. Unknown number: "u okay? fox ran past us lol"

I smiled. Maybe next time I'd actually go to the party.

Tonight, the fox and I were good.