Orange Splash at Miller's Pond

Levi was seventeen and fundamentally invisible. At least, that's how it felt at Crestview High, where the social hierarchy was as rigid as stadium seating and Levi had somehow ended up in the nosebleeds.

So when Jake Morrison's legendary party invite actually landed in his inbox—by accident, obviously—Levi did what any invisible kid would do. He said yes.

The night of the party, Levi stood at the edge of Miller's Pond, clutching a warm orange soda that was condensing all over his palm. Around him, beautiful people bobbed in the dark water like constellation fragments, their laughter carrying across the surface. Jake Morrison, homecoming king and accidental party host, did a cannonball that displaced half the pond.

"Yo, Levi!" Jake shouted, surfacing. "Get in here!"

Levi hesitated. He'd worn his oldest swim trunks—the ones with the fraying hem—and his mom had packed an orange soda in his bag like he was still twelve. Who showed up to a rager with orange soda?

Then he saw the dog.

An ancient Golden Retriever had wandered down from the road and sat near the shore, watching the party with what looked suspiciously like judgment. Its fur was matted and one ear flopped over like it had given up on life years ago.

Without thinking, Levi walked over and sat beside it. "I know, right?"

The dog leaned into his side, heavy and warm. Levi opened his orange soda—*snap-hiss*—and the dog's ears perked up.

"Want some?" Levi asked. "Probably terrible for you."

He poured a little into his palm. The dog lapped it up, then nosed Levi's elbow for more.

"Levi!" Jake called again. "Seriously, get in. The water's actually not gross."

Levi looked at the dog, then at the party. Beautiful people who'd never spoken to him before were suddenly waving him over like he'd always belonged. But the dog had found him first.

"You coming?" someone else shouted.

Levi stood up, peeled off his shirt, and walked toward the water. The dog followed. When Levi waded in—cool and shocking against his skin—the dog plunged in after him, splashing orange soda water everywhere.

Everyone stared. Then Jake started laughing. And somehow, for the first time in three years of high school, Levi wasn't invisible anymore.

The dog shook itself off, spraying orange-tinged water all over Jake Morrison's expensive swim trunks. And Levi, finally, laughed too.