Orange Summer of the Bear

The orange polo shirt felt like a second skin—like, a really horrible, neon-orange second skin that practically screamed "I work here." Marcus tugged at the collar while the papaya scent from the poolside cabana drifted over, mixing with chlorine and expensive sunscreen.

"Yo Bear, stop fidgeting." Tyler from the snack bar gave him a fist bump. "You look straight." Marcus hadn't even realized the nickname had stuck since last week when some middle schooler pointed and shouted "that guy's built like a bear!" and instead of taking offense, Tyler had turned it into their thing.

His phone buzzed. Mom again: Did you take your vitamin?

Marcus rolled his eyes. Still popping those gummy bears like a fifth grader while his friends were all doing actual pre-workout. He dug the half-empty bottle from his backpack—fruit punch flavor, not that it mattered—and swallowed two without water. Whatever helped him bulk up before soccer tryouts.

"Oh my GOD, is that PAPAYA?" Chloe appeared out of nowhere, TikTok-ready with her phone raised. "I literally just read this is the SUPERFRUIT of 2026." She plopped down at the table where Marcus's mom had packed his lunch, stabbing at the orange cubes with suspicious enthusiasm.

"It's whatever," Marcus said, but secretly he was kind of glad someone else besides his health-nut mom appreciated the weird fruit.

"You should try it with lime," Chloe said suddenly, like it was the most obvious thing ever. "My abuela makes it—" She stopped. "Whatever. It's good." And then, because the universe had terrible timing, Jordan emerged from the pool area like some kind of mythological creature, water glistening off basically everything.

"What's this?" Jordan asked, eyeing the papaya.

"Superfruit," Marcus and Chloe said at the same time, then locked eyes. A tiny moment. A micro-dose of understanding.

"Weird." Jordan shrugged. "I'm gonna get vitamin water. Anyone want?"

Marcus watched them walk away, orange polo suddenly feeling not so embarrassing. The papaya sat on his tray like some kind of tropical symbol of his weird, uncool life. But then Tyler threw a towel at him from the snack bar window.

"Bear! Get over here! We're swamped!"

Marcus grinned. The nickname felt different now. Like armor. Like something he could actually grow into. He grabbed his backpack, the vitamin bottle rattling inside, and headed toward the snack bar, leaving the papaya for someone else to discover. Summer was just getting started.