Goldfish & Papaya Sunset

I was officially the worst at parties.

Standing by the chip bowl at Jessica's end-of-summer bash, I spent twenty minutes pretending to be deeply fascinated by a bag of cheddar **goldfish**. The real kind — the crackers, not the actual fish. Though at this point, I'd probably have more in common with an actual goldfish, what with the whole three-second memory thing and my inability to remember how to function normally around humans.

"Hey, you gonna actually eat those, or just stare at them dramatically?"

I jumped. Okay, I literally jumped. Spilled half the bag. Because I'm smooth like that.

Marcus stood there grinning, his skin a warm **orange** glow from the string lights overhead. His hair was wet from the pool, droplets catching the light like he was some kind of catalog model for Teenagers Who Have Their Lives Together.

"Dramatically staring is my signature move," I heard myself say. Why did I say that? What is wrong with me?

He laughed. Actually laughed. "Same. I'm **running** on zero social battery right now. Your vibe is refreshing."

My what was refreshing? My vibe? Since when did I have a vibe?

Someone called Marcus's name from the pool. "Dude, truth or dare! You're up!"

He grimaced. "Saved by the social pressure." He looked back at me. "Wanna come? You can be my witness if I drown from embarrassment."

"Hard pass. I don't do water."

"What?"

"I don't swim. Can't swim. Never learned. There, I said it. Judge me."

Marcus blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. My parents had this near-drowning incident when they were kids, so they were paranoid. I grew up in a house where swimming pools were basically death traps."

"That's... actually kind of epically tragic."

"I know, right? My trauma is literally elementary school level."

He considered this, then grabbed two cups from the table. "Okay, new plan. We're skipping the pool drama. You want to try something else terrifying?"

"Terrifying like my almost-drowning story, or terrifying like regular terrifying?"

"The good kind." He pointed toward the food table. "Ever had **papaya**?"

"Is that a dare?"

"It's an experience. My mom's obsessed with 'expanding my palate.' She brought this entire fruit platter. No one's touched it because it looks weird."

The papaya sat there like an alien spacecraft, all orange-fleshed and mysterious. I'd never tried anything that wasn't in the regular lunch rotation at school. New experiences were not my brand.

But Marcus was looking at me like this was the most interesting thing that had happened all night.

"Fine. But if I hate it, I'm blaming you."

"Deal."

We sat on the back porch steps, eating papaya with plastic forks while people screamed and splashed in the pool behind us. It was sweet, kind of musky, nothing like I expected.

"It's not terrible," I admitted.

"See? Expanding horizons. What else haven't you tried?"

"Everything. I'm basically a professional at not doing things."

"So this is new. Talking to strangers. Eating papaya. Sitting on porches."

"Yeah."

"Progress, then."

The pool lights reflected in his eyes, and the **water** rippled blue and silver in the background. For the first time all night, I didn't feel like hiding.

"Hey," Marcus said quietly. "You know what's actually brave?"

"What?"

"Showing up when you're scared to." He gestured toward the pool. "Everyone in there is doing the same stuff they always do. But you? You're out here trying papaya and admitting you can't swim to the one person who's been in the pool all night."

I blinked. "I thought you were going to judge me."

"Nah. I was going to teach you."

"What?"

"Swimming. If you want. I mean, not tonight. But before summer ends. We could come back here. Jessica won't care. She's practically adopted me at this point."

My heart did that annoying fluttery thing that happens in movies but you think doesn't happen in real life until it happens to you.

"I'd like that," I said. "Actually, I'd really like that."

"Cool." He stood up. "Wanna go back to the goldfish? I'm pretty sure we can salvage them from the grass."

"Marcus?"

"Yeah?"

"They're probably gross now."

"Probably. But sometimes the gross ones are the most interesting."

He held out a hand. I took it. And for the first time in my life, I walked toward the pool without feeling like I was drowning.