Poolside Truth

Tyler's Adidas hit the pavement as he paced around the edge of the pool, his heartbeat doing somersaults. The annual end-of-summer party at Jasmine's house. Everyone who was anyone was there.

"You good, man?" Marcus asked, floating in the water with his sunglasses pushed up like a headband.

"Yeah. Just... thinking about Jasmine."

"Still?" Marcus groaned, splashing water. "Tyler, my guy, you've been crushing on her since seventh grade. Just talk to her already."

Easier said than done. Tyler's social anxiety had about as much chill as a fire alarm in a library. He watched Jasmine across the pool, laughing with her friends, her curly hair perfect even in the humidity.

Then CHAD appeared. Actual Chad, capital letters, wearing a shirt that said "TOTAL CATCH" and standing way too close to Jasmine.

"Oh my GOD, Chad's totally spitting game," Marcus whispered, paddling over. "Did you hear him telling everyone he's getting a scholarship? For basketball? At Duke?"

"No way."

"Bro, that's straight-up bull." Marcus rolled his eyes so hard they practically disappeared. "Chad can barely make a layup, and Duke isn't checking for his YouTube gaming channel."

But Jasmine looked impressed. Tyler's stomach twisted into knots. He wanted to be the kind of person who could just wade over and say, hey, that sounds sus, but instead he stood there like a statue.

Until he saw it. Chad's phone on the lounge chair, screen glowing with an incoming text: "DUKE SCHOLARSHIP INFO? - Mom"

Wait. What?

Tyler's brain did the mental equivalent of dropping a phone face-down. The text was asking ABOUT a scholarship, not confirming one. Chad was being completely fake about something important.

His feet were moving before his brain fully caught up. He grabbed his towel, marched over to where Chad was holding court about his "amazing athletic journey," and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey Chad, that Duke thing sounds major. But didn't you tell everyone last month that you were focusing on your streaming career full-time?"

The silence around the pool was so absolute that Tyler could hear the cable from Jasmine's speakers bouncing against the side of the house. Chad's face went through seven shades of awkward.

"I mean... I have OPTIONS," Chad mumbled, suddenly super interested in his fingernails.

Jasmine's eyes widened. She was looking at Tyler now, really looking at him. "Wait, you're right, he said he was done with sports last year."

"Yeah," Tyler said, his voice actually steady. "Pretty sure he was flexing."

Chad retreated toward the snack table, defeated. Jasmine smiled at Tyler, and his heart did this weird fluttery thing that definitely wasn't from anxiety.

"Thanks for calling that out," she said. "I hate when people try to be someone they're not."

"No problem," Tyler managed, while Marcus gave him a thumbs-up from inside the pool.

Maybe next time he wouldn't wait for someone to be full of it before speaking up. Maybe. Small wins.