Lifeguard Watch

Marcus sat in the lifeguard chair, shades on, trying to look effortless. Below him, the pool glittered like broken glass under the July sun. He'd been crushing on Skylar since freshman year, and she was here again—tan legs, neon bikini, laughing with her friends like she owned the place.

He wasn't technically supposed to spy on people from the chair, but whatever. It wasn't like he was being creepy about it. Just... observing. Noticing how she flipped her hair when she laughed. How she always did that thing where she tucked one strand behind her ear. Not that he was counting the times or anything.

"Yo, Marcus!" His little sister Jayden's voice shattered his concentration. "Mom said bring towels!"

Marcus groaned. Jayden stood poolside clutching Mr. Snuffles—this ratty old teddy bear she'd had since she was three, missing one eye and dragging his ass through the chlorine.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" Jayden blinked innocently. "Mr. Snuffles wants to swim."

"Dude, you're twelve."

"And?" She dropped the bear like it was the most normal thing in the world.

It sank immediately.

Marcus froze. This wasn't happening. This could NOT be happening. He scrambled down the ladder, heart pounding, as Skylar and her friends turned to watch. He could feel their eyes on him as he waded in, fully clothed, searching blindly through the blue.

His fingers brushed wet fuzz. He hauled Mr. Snuffles from the depths, water streaming from the bear's matted fur like he'd just survived actual maritime warfare.

Skylar was laughing. But not mean-laughing. Like, actually laughing.

"Your sister?" she called from the edge.

Marcus wanted to dissolve. "Yeah. She's... special."

"It's cute," Skylar said, and something about her tone made him look up. "My little brother still has his baby blanket. We don't talk about it."

Marcus stood there, dripping wet, holding a waterlogged one-eyed teddy bear like an absolute idiot. But Skylar was still smiling at him, really smiling, and maybe—just maybe—being the guy who rescued a dignity-bear from the bottom of the pool wasn't the worst thing to be.

"Next time," Skylar added, "maybe invite me to the pool party instead of just watching from up there."

She winked. Then she dove in, slicing through the water.

Marcus clutched Mr. Snuffles tighter. So much for being smooth. But somehow, weirdly, that felt okay too.