Orange Crush Summer

The pool party at Tyler's house was supposed to be casual. No big deal. Except my hair was currently the color of a traffic cone, and I was seriously considering just never leaving my room again.

"You look... vibrant," my best friend Chloe said, wincing as she applied yet another layer of lip gloss.

"I look like a Cheeto. A disappointed Cheeto."

The box said "sunset copper." My hair said "consequence of poor life choices."

Tyler's backyard was already packed when we arrived. Someone had dragged a huge stereo system poolside, and the smell of chlorine mixed with whatever cheap cologne the guys were drowning themselves in. The popular crowd was in the shallow end, attempting to build a human pyramid—because apparently that was still a thing people did in 2024.

"Hey, it's Orange Caitlin!" someone called out. Great. Nickname already.

I made a beeline for the snack table, grabbing an orange soda because at this point, why not commit to the bit? The pyramid collapsed in a spectacular splash behind me, followed by everyone laughing. Classic.

Then Tyler swam over, shaking water from his dark hair like some kind of movie protagonist. He had that effortless thing that made my stomach do stupid little flips.

"Your hair," he said, grinning. "It's... bold."

"Bold. That's one word for it. 'Disastrous' works too."

"Nah." He leaned against the pool edge, water dripping down his arms. "I dig it. Takes guts to show up looking like you actually don't care what people think."

"I definitely care what people think. That's literally why I'm hiding by the chips."

His laugh was unexpectedly genuine. "We're all pretending, Caitlin. The pyramid crew over there? They've been practicing that thing since last summer. They care more than anyone."

I looked over at the group, already rebuilding their formation. Something about the absurdity of it made me actually laugh.

"Wanna help me sabotage it?" Tyler asked, eyes twinkling.

"I don't know. I'm having a pretty good time just judging from here."

"Come on." He splashed water at me—ice cold pool water hitting my arm. "Live a little."

I should have said no. I should have maintained my comfortable position as judgmental wallflower. Instead, I kicked off my flip-flops.

"Fine. But I'm taking at least three of them down with me."

That afternoon, I accidentally-on-purpose knocked over their precious pyramid, learned Tyler's laugh sounded even better up close, and discovered that sometimes the things you think will ruin your social life end up being the exact things that make it actually worth living. My hair was still orange. But for the first time all summer, I didn't want to change it.