Orange Hair & Deep Water

The pool water was colder than usual, or maybe that was just my nerves talking. I'd dyed my hair bright orange two days before districts—part rebellion, part I-don't-even-know-what—and now every time I surfaced from a lap, I could feel half the team staring.

"You're gonna stick out like a sore thumb," Marcus had said, leaning against the locker room door with that stupid grin. "Not that that's a change."

"Shut up, Marcus."

"I'm just saying. You're literally swimming in enemy territory wearing neon." He tossed me my goggles. "But hey, at least nobody'll miss your finish."

He wasn't wrong. We were at Northwood High, and their pool was basically their temple. Their star swimmer, Tanner, had been spreading rumors all week about how I'd choked at sectionals last year. Total bull, but the kind that sticks because people want to believe it.

The orange hair had been my way of saying I didn't care what they thought. (Okay, maybe I cared a little. Okay, maybe a lot. But nobody else had to know that.)

"Swimmers, take your marks."

My heart was running a marathon against my ribs. The whistle blew.

The water closed over my head, and suddenly none of it mattered—the hair, the rumors, Tanner standing at the edge of the pool in his Northwood cap like he owned the place. Just the stroke, the rhythm, the way my arms cut through the water and the bubbles trailed behind me like white confetti.

I surfaced at the wall, gasping, and Marcus was already there with the water bottle, grinning like crazy.

"You just smoked Tanner's time by two seconds."

"For real?"

"Bro, I swear. He's over there looking like someone just stole his car. Your hair's practically glowing." He gestured to the other side of the pool, where Tanner stood with his mouth slightly open, watching me. "And the orange hair? Yeah. That's legendary now."

I wiped the water from my eyes, looked down at my bright orange hair plastered to my forehead, and for the first time all week, I didn't feel like hiding.

"Well," I said, pushing off the wall again. "Guess I'm keeping it then."