Green in the Deep End

Marcus stood at the edge of the **pool**, clutching his towel like a lifeline. The spring fling was in full swing—kids from school everywhere, music bumping, and somehow everyone looked effortless in their swimsuits. Everyone except him.

"Yo Marcus, you coming in or what?" Tyler yelled from the water, splashing water everywhere. Tyler had that natural confidence Marcus would kill for. Meanwhile, Marcus kept adjusting his **hat**—a backwards cap he thought made him look chill but actually just screamed "I'm trying too hard."

Marcus froze. He'd forgotten something crucial earlier. His mom had made spinach smoothies for breakfast. Spinach. And he'd rushed out without checking the mirror. Now, every time he smiled, he felt paranoid about what might be stuck in his teeth.

"That's **bull**," his friend Jasmine whispered, appearing beside him. "You've been standing here twenty minutes. They're not gonna judge you."

Marcus smirked, then immediately stopped, remembering the potential spinach situation. "Easy for you to say. You didn't have a leafy green breakfast."

"What?" Jasmine gave him this weird look.

"Nothing. I'm good." But he wasn't good. He was sixteen and still overthinking everything like he was in middle school.

Then Maya—the girl he'd been lowkey crushing on since September—climbed out of the pool. Water dripped from her hair as she walked over, and Marcus's brain went into emergency mode.

"Hey Marcus," she said, smiling. "You gonna join us? The water's perfect."

His heart hammered. He could say no and keep standing there like a weirdo, or he could just... do it. Just dive in and literally wash away his insecurities.

Marcus took a breath, tossed his hat onto a chair, and cannonballed into the deep end.

The shock of cool water washed over him, and when he surfaced, everyone was cheering. Even Tyler. Maya laughed and splashed him, and Marcus realized nobody was thinking about his teeth or his hair or whether he looked cool. They were just... hanging out.

"Took you long enough," Maya said, grinning.

Marcus finally smiled back, not caring if there was spinach stuck in his teeth. Some things mattered more than being perfect.