Poolside Physics

The chlorine stung my eyes as I surfaced from the pool, gasping for air. Summer 2026 at Jordan's party felt different — like everyone had leveled up over break while I was still stuck in the tutorial version of myself.

I wiped water from my face and grabbed my towel, heart racing because Emma was actually sitting two loungers away. Emma, who I'd been lowkey crushing on since Bio sophomore year. Emma, who I'd been practicing conversations with in my shower for three weeks.

My hand went instinctively to my iphone 15 in the waterproof pouch around my neck. Habit. Muscle memory from hiding behind screens in awkward social situations. But Jordan's mom had declared this a 'no-phone zone' — which felt both tyrannical and weirdly genius because now I actually had to, like, talk to people.

'Dude, you good?' Marcus appeared, dripping pool water, holding a bowl of sliced fruit. 'You look like you're calculating physics equations or something.'

I grabbed an orange slice from the bowl, needing something to do with my hands. 'Just vibing. You know how it is.'

'Man, just talk to her,' Marcus said, way too loud. 'You've been staring at Emma since she got here. It's giving obsession, but in a cute way. I think.'

I nearly choked on my orange wedge. 'I'm not — shut up.'

'My sister says you gotta have main character energy,' he continued, entirely unhelpful. 'Also, she told me to tell you that vitamin D deficiency causes social anxiety. So maybe eat more oranges and get some sun?'

This was terrible advice on multiple levels.

Then Emma stood up, grabbing her towel. She started walking toward the snack table. Toward us. My brain short-circuited. The orange slice suddenly felt like the most interesting object in the universe.

'Hey,' she said, and her voice was exactly how I remembered — like she was always half-amused by everything. 'You're Marco, right? From Mr. Harrison's class?'

My name wasn't Marco. But also, my name WAS Marco.

'Yeah,' I said, sounding weirdly calm despite my heart hammering like I'd just sprinted a mile. 'That's me. Marco.'

She laughed. 'Cool. I kept meaning to ask about that presentation you gave on coral reefs. It was actually kind of fire.'

We talked for twenty minutes about coral reefs, which somehow turned into talk about our existential dread about college applications, which somehow turned into her following me on Instagram.

Later that night, I lay in bed staring at my ceiling, reimagining every sentence of our conversation. Marcus texted: told you bro. main character energy.

I didn't reply. Some moments were too perfect to ruin with a comeback.