Poolside Undead

The chlorine stung my nose as I hovered at the edge of the pool, gripping my snapback like a lifeline. Everyone else was already in the water, laughing and splashing like this was just another Friday. But for me? This was basically social suicide.

"Yo Marcus, get in here!" Tyler yelled from the deep end. He was my oldest friend, the one who'd convinced me that coming to this party would be "lowkey chill" instead of the anxiety nightmare it actually was.

I pulled my hat lower. "Nah, I'm good."

The truth? I was the only one here who couldn't swim. At sixteen. Literally everyone else had been doing laps since they were toddlers, while I'd been busy avoiding anything deeper than a bathtub. The embarrassment was real.

Then Sarah—Sarah with the perfect hair and the laugh that made my chest feel weird—swam over to the edge. She rested her chin on her arms and looked up at me. "Everything okay?"

My brain turned into something resembling a zombie. All coherent thought got eaten. "Yeah. Totally. Just. You know."

Her golden retriever, Buster, chose that exact moment to explode out of the back door, barking like a maniac and making a beeline for the water. He launched himself into the pool with a spectacular splash that soaked my already-sweaty shirt.

Everyone laughed. Even me. Something about the dog's pure joy, the way he paddled around like he'd just discovered paradise, broke through the wall of tension I'd built up.

Sarah pushed wet hair from her face. "Buster loves the water. Can't blame him—it's hot out."

I looked at the pool. At Tyler doing a terrible backflip. At Sarah watching me with those eyes that saw too much. At Buster, the dog who gave zero fucks about looking stupid.

"You know what?" I set my hat on a chair. "Bet I can beat Buster to the other side."

Sarah's smile was worth the inevitable humiliation. "You're on. But fair warning—he's undefeated."

I jumped in. The water swallowed me, cool and shocking and somehow not scary at all. When I surfaced, spluttering and graceless, nobody was judging. They were just waiting, like they'd been waiting the whole time for me to show up.

Tyler whooped. "Finally! Now the party can start."

I couldn't swim worth shit, but as I doggy-paddled my way across the pool alongside a very determined retriever, I figured that was okay. Some things you learn gradually. Some things you just have to jump into and figure out as you go.

Besides, I had a feeling this was just the first of many leaps I'd be taking this summer.