Poolside Panic

Marcus adjusted the brim of his dad's old fedora, sweating through his palms. Why he'd thought wearing a vintage hat to Jessica's pool party would make him look mysterious instead of like a lost member of a ska band from 2003, he had no clue.

The pool itself was a masterpiece of suburban excess—complete with a waterfall and underwater LED lights that cycled through colors like a depressed disco. Around it, the popular kids lounged like exotic reptiles. Tyler, wearing what had to be three times the recommended amount of cologne, held court on a diving board, loudly recounting some story that was 100% pure bull.

"So I told the coach, 'You want points? I'll give you points.'"

Everyone laughed. Marcus adjusted his hat again.

"Nice lid," someone said behind him.

Marcus turned. It was Jessica herself, wearing oversized sunglasses that made her look like a celebrity incognito. "Vintage?"

"Yeah, my dad—"

"Tyler's about to do his signature cannonball," she interrupted. "You should join."

Before Marcus could process that she knew his name, let alone was suggesting he participate, Tyler launched himself into the water with a shout of "CANNONBALL!" A wave of chlorinated water arced over the pool deck, catching Marcus square in the chest. His hat, the vintage fedora, sailed off his head and landed directly in the pool.

The hat bobbed once, twice, then began to sink like a defeated ship.

Something inside Marcus shifted. Maybe it was the absurdity of it all—the hat slowly drowning in four feet of water while everyone stared. Maybe it was just that he was done feeling like the background character in someone else's movie.

He ran.

Not away. Toward the pool.

A perfect shallow dive, hands slicing through water, hat retrieved in three seconds flat. He surfaced, hat aloft like Excalibur, dripping wet but somehow completely alive.

Jessica pushed her sunglasses onto her head. "Saved it."

Marcus grinned, water streaming down his face. "Vintage's hard to find."

"Nice," Tyler called from the water. "What else you got?"

Marcus tossed the fedora onto a lounge chair. Actually, he had nothing else. But for the first time all summer, that felt like exactly enough.