Green Between the Teeth

The invitation sat on my phone screen like a threat: POOL PARTY @ JESSICA'S — SATURDAY. The Jessica. The one whose Instagram stories looked like a movie about someone else's life.

"You going?" Marcus asked, falling onto my bed next to me. My golden retriever, Barnaby, trotted in after him, immediately making himself comfortable on my pillow.

"I don't even have a swimsuit that doesn't look like it's from 2019," I said, which was true. But mostly I was thinking about how Jessica's pool parties were legendary social events where people became Someone or became No One.

"Bro, she invited you personally," Marcus pointed out. "That's not nothing."

I'd been eating dinner when her DM came through. Mom's spinach and ricotta stuffed shells — my favorite. I'd replied immediately: YES! With way too many exclamation points. Only afterward did I check my reflection in the dark phone screen.

Spinach. In my teeth. A whole forest of it.

How long had it been there when I smiled at Jessica in the hallway yesterday? When she'd actually stopped to talk to me about her chem homework? I'd thought we'd had a moment. Turns out I'd just been a walking salad bar.

Saturday came like a slow motion disaster. I borrowed Marcus's board shorts because I'd somehow outgrown all of mine. They were too long and I felt like a kid playing dress-up.

Jessica's backyard was exactly like her posts: twinkling lights, expensive furniture, people who looked like they'd stepped out of a TikTok trend forecast. The pool gleamed like something from a magazine.

"Hey!" Jessica waved from the pool's edge. She was wearing this simple blue one-piece that looked somehow perfect. "You made it!"

I walked over, hyper-aware of my too-long shorts and the fact that I was maybe the only person here who still got nervous around pools.

"Your teeth look great today," she said, grinning.

I froze. Was she—

"I'm kidding," she laughed, splashing water at me. "I saw you at your locker yesterday. You looked like you'd been eating a whole garden. I was gonna tell you, but it was kind of adorable."

My face burned. "Adorable. That's awesome."

"It was!" She swam closer. "Look, none of these people are interesting. They just take photos of themselves. You're actually funny. You helped me pass chemistry, which my parents appreciated more than you know."

I sat at the pool's edge, letting my feet dangle in the cool water. Barnaby would've jumped in instantly.

"So," Jessica said, "are you getting in or what?"

I looked around at everyone posing and preening. Then I looked at her, waiting.

"Yeah," I said, sliding into the water. "Yeah, I'm getting in."

That night I had five new contacts in my phone, three Instagram follows, and an invitation to study for finals with Jessica. Also, Marcus's shorts needed to be washed. Twice.

Some days you're the kid with spinach in your teeth. Some days you're the one cannonballing into the deep end anyway.