Summer Lightning Strikes

Marcus's mom handed him the orange bottle before he climbed into Trey's car. "Don't forget your vitamin D, honey. You're always inside gaming."

"Mom, seriously?" Marcus groaned, shoving the bottle into his backpack. Trey snickered from the driver's seat.

The community pool party was already bumping when they arrived. Jen was there, wearing that mismatched bikini like she didn't care what anyone thought — which was exactly why Marcus couldn't stop looking at her. Some guys from the baseball team were showing off, cannonballing into the deep end while girls pretended not to watch.

Marcus stood at the pool's edge, knees weak. He'd been working on his form all summer, watching YouTube tutorials, practicing his dive in his bathtub. But doing it for real? In front of everyone?

"Marcus! Your turn!" someone yelled.

He stepped onto the diving board. The board felt foreign under his bare feet. He bounced once, twice, and then —

CRACK.

Lightning struck the transformer down the street. The whole neighborhood went dark. Girls screamed. Guys shouted. The pool surface reflected the strobe-like flashes from the distant storm.

In that darkness, someone grabbed Marcus's hand. It was Jen. Her palm was sweaty, her grip surprisingly strong.

"You okay?" she whispered, close enough that he could smell coconut sunscreen.

"Yeah," he managed, heart racing for a totally different reason now. "You?"

"My sister's freaking out," she said, nodding toward the shallow end. "We should probably help."

They spent the next hour in the dim light of phone flashlights, herding little kids away from the pool's edge, grabbing towels, being the responsible ones everyone else seemed too scared to be. Marcus forgot about his nerves, forgot about impressing anyone. He just acted.

When the power finally flickered back on, Jen looked at him differently. "You were actually really chill during all that."

Marcus shrugged. "Just didn't want anyone to drown."

"Maybe next week," she said, "you can show me that dive you were about to do. If the weather cooperates."

"Yeah," Marcus said, grinning in the sudden brightness. "Next week."

Later, in the car, Trey couldn't stop laughing. "Bro, you literally got cockblocked by lightning."

Marcus didn't care. He'd take a lightning storm over a perfect dive any day, especially if it meant Jen finally knew his name.