Orange Slice at the Deep End

The pool parties at Jasmine's house were legendary, mostly because her parents were never home and the filter system was industrial-grade powerful. Kai stood at the edge, clutching a warm orange soda can like it was a lifeline. Around him, the popular kids splashed and screamed, their bodies moving through the water with an ease Kai had never mastered.

Swimming lessons had ended catastrophically in fourth grade, and since then, Kai had perfected the art of pool-side presence. He brought snacks. He applied sunscreen to other people's backs. He took spectacularly aesthetic photos for Instagram. He did NOT go underwater.

Until Maya asked him to.

"I'm not going in alone," she said, adjusting the straps of her orange bikini top. It was the exact same shade as the crush soda Kai had been nursing for twenty minutes. "Everyone's doing the breath-holding contest at the deep end. Come with?"

Kai's heart did something complicated in his chest. Maya, who sat behind him in pre-calc and drew tiny cats in the margins of her notes. Maya, who'd worn orange every day since October because she read somewhere it was supposed to boost confidence.

"I don't really... swim," Kai managed.

Maya shrugged. "Neither does Tyler. He's just doing handstands in the shallow end like a toddler. Please?"

So Kai found himself chest-deep in chlorinated water, surrounded by tanned teenagers counting down from thirty. Maya squeezed his hand underwater, brief and electric, and then they both ducked under.

The world went muffled and blue-orange refracted through Kai's closed eyelids. His lungs burned. His mind raced with everything he'd never said to her, everything he'd never said to anyone. About how the color orange made him feel seen somehow. About how he'd been coming to these parties for three summers, always watching from the edge.

When he surfaced, gasping, Maya was already up, water dripping from her eyelashes. Everyone was still under.

"We lasted longer than Tyler," she said, grinning. "Wanna get another orange soda?"

"Yeah," said Kai, water dripping from his chin. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Some thresholds aren't crossed with a splash. Sometimes you wade in gradually, holding hands with someone who makes the deep end feel less terrifying.