Poolside Panic Protocol

The chlorine hit my nose before I even saw the water. Jordan's annual pool party. The invite said 'casual' but everyone knew that was a lie. Casual meant精心 curated casual. Casual meant I'd spent forty minutes staring at my reflection, debating whether my scar on my shoulder from last summer's bike fail would make people stare.

I kept my baseball cap pulled low. My comfort blanket. My don't-look-at-me shield.

'YO MARCUS!' Jordan's voice boomed from the pool deck. 'Get in here, bro!'

'Uh, maybe later,' I said, standing awkwardly by the snack table. 'I ate. Too soon.'

Total lie. I'd been too nervous to eat anything.

That's when I spotted Riley by the cooler, doing that thing where she looked effortlessly cool in a way that felt physically painful to witness. She popped two gummy vitamins into her mouth like it was completely normal to be taking supplements at a high school pool party.

'What are those?' I heard myself ask before I could chicken out.

'Vitamin D,' she said, grinning. 'My mom says I'm deficient. Says I need more sun.' She gestured at the hat on my head. 'What about you? You dressed for winter or something?'

My face burned. 'It's—'

'Hiding something?' She raised an eyebrow. 'Everyone's insecure about something, Marcus. Even Jordan. Did you know he wears makeup to cover his acne?'

I looked at Jordan, currently shirtless and cannonballing into the deep end like he owned the world. 'No way.'

'Swear.' Riley held up the vitamin bottle. 'You want one? Not that it'll fix anything, but sometimes you just gotta fake it till you make it, right?'

Something about the way she said it—so matter-of-fact, like being a mess was just part of the deal—made the knot in my chest loosen.

'I'm terrible at swimming,' I admitted. 'Like, actually terrible. I sink.'

'So don't swim,' she said. 'Just stand there and look mysterious. Work the hat.' She winked. 'Or I could teach you. My dad was a swim coach. He made me and my sister do laps before school. Actual torture.'

'You'd teach me?'

'Sure. But you gotta lose the hat. Hair gets wet, Marcus. That's literally how swimming works.'

I took it off. My messy hair flopped out. Nobody gasped. Nobody pointed. Riley just nodded toward the shallow end like it was no big deal.

'Alright then,' I said. 'Let's do this. But if I sink, you're jumping in after me.'

'Deal.' She grinned. 'Just don't swallow the water. That's literally all the pee in the pool.'

I laughed. Actually laughed. And for the first time all afternoon, the panic in my chest settled into something that felt almost like courage.