Sink or Swim

The **pool** glittered like a giant spilled diamond, and somewhere in its depths, my dignity was probably doing laps.

"Bro, you coming?" Tyler called, already shirtless with abs that definitely didn't come from eating Hot Cheetos on the couch.

I stood there frozen, hand stuffed in my pocket, crushing my **iphone** like a lifeline. My new **hair**—or whatever remained after the Great Home Dye Disaster of 2025—was currently hidden under a backwards cap. Because nothing says confidence like accessorizing out of pure insecurity.

"Just gotta... uh... check something," I muttered, because apparently my social skills had decided to take the day off.

Around me, the popular crew moved like they'd been choreographed since birth. Maya and Chloe were posted up on lounge chairs, phone cameras at the ready, capturing every splash-worthy moment for their stories. Because if you didn't post it, were you even living?

"We're playing **padel** later," Tyler added, like this was supposed to tempt me. "You should join."

Right. Me. The guy whose greatest athletic achievement was reaching the remote without sitting up. Against these people, who probably carbohydrate-counted for fun.

But then I saw Sofia—Sofia, who'd sat behind me in Bio last year and actually laughed at my terrible mitochondria jokes—walking toward the deep end. She wasn't posting, wasn't performing. She just... existed, like she'd somehow missed the memo that everything had to be a production.

"Hey," she said, sliding into the water with zero dramatics. "You gonna stand there all day or actually get wet?"

Something in her smile made it sound less like a question and more like a challenge.

So I jumped.

The water hit me like reality—shocking, overwhelming, and honestly kind of gross when I thought about how many people had been in here already. But as I broke the surface, gasping and wiping chlorine from my eyes, I heard something I hadn't expected.

Laughter.

Not mean laughter. The real kind.

"About time!" Tyler splashed me, and suddenly I was **swimming** in it—the pool, the moment, the version of myself I'd been too scared to let out. My hat floated away somewhere behind me. My hair—faded blue, definitely not professionally done—was on display.

And nobody cared.

Sofia swam up beside me. "See? Not so terrible."

"Yeah," I said, grinning. "I guess not."

My iphone stayed in my pocket on the side of the pool. Some moments aren't meant to be captured. Sometimes you just have to dive in.