Poolside Vitamin Panic

The summer before sophomore year, I landed the worst job ever: restocking gummy **vitamin** displays at VitaminWorld while my best **friend** Chloe worked the counter. The uniform was literally criminal—a bright yellow polo that made me look like a walking highlighter.

'You look like you're about to audit someone's taxes,' Chloe laughed, adjusting her name tag.

'Shut up. At least I'm not the one who accidentally told that customer that the collagen gummies were magical.'

The store was dead except for Mrs. Henderson, who'd been examining the same fish oil bottle for twenty minutes. Outside, the pool supply store next door was doing **water** balloon giveaways, and middle schoolers were screaming like they'd won the lottery.

Then the bell jingled and HE walked in. Lucas from my English class. The one with the curls that fell over his eyes when he concentrated. The one I'd been lowkey staring at all year.

My brain went full static. I knocked over an entire display of elderberry immune support—bottles everywhere. Smooth.

'Whoa,' Lucas said, stepping through the chaos. His chocolate lab **dog** waited outside, nose pressed against the glass. That's when I noticed it: Lucas was wearing a faded camp t-shirt with a cartoon **bear** holding a fish. Bear Creek Camp, where half the popular kids went every summer.

'You go there?' I somehow squeaked out.

'Yeah, counselor this summer.' He smiled. 'My dog's the mascot. No joke.'

Chloe was making eyes at me from behind the counter like she might actually explode.

'So,' Lucas said, picking up a vitamin D bottle, 'you guys hiring?'

I stood there surrounded by scattered elderberry bottles, wearing my highlighter uniform, with Lucas actually smiling at me. And for the first time all summer, I didn't feel like the awkward girl hiding in the back row.

'Maybe,' I said, actually grinning. 'But you'd have to wear the yellow polo.'

He winced. 'Hard pass.'

I watched him leave with his dog, already mentally drafting the group chat message to Chloe: HOLY SHIT DID THAT JUST HAPPEN.