Summer of Bad Decisions

I pulled the orange polo shirt over my head for the fourth time that week. Working at Happy Stream Cable wasn't exactly how I'd pictured my summer before senior year, but my parents had been clear about the "get a job or we're cutting off your phone" ultimatum.

"You're running it to apartment 4B," Marcus said, barely looking up from his phone. He'd been training me for exactly three shifts and already acted like he was done with my entire existence.

The cable box in my backpack felt like it weighed a million pounds. Climbing four flights of stairs in July humidity wasn't the vibe, but rent in LA doesn't pay itself. When I finally reached 4B, I could hear music thumping through the door - that bass-heavy stuff everyone at school seemed to be obsessed with lately.

The door swung open before I could knock. A girl with purple streaks in her hair stood there, holding a dog that looked like it was judging my entire life choices. The dog stared at me like *bro, really?* and I couldn't even argue with that.

"You're the cable guy?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you, like, my age?"

"Happy Stream Cable's youngest employee," I said, trying to sound professional and definitely not like someone who'd been silently dreading this exact moment. "There's an outage in your building."

She let me in, and the apartment was surprisingly nice - or at least nicer than the mess I called a room. Posters covered every wall. A giant bear-shaped bean bag sat in the corner, looking comically out of place and way too expensive.

"I'm Riley," she said, watching me work. "And that's Biscuit." She pointed to the dog, who had settled into judging me from the couch. "You go to Northwood?"

I nodded. Since when did people I didn't know recognize me? Had I finally reached that level of invisibility where I became known for being unknown?

"I've seen you," she said casually. "You sit by the windows in the cafeteria. Reading books that look way too intense for first period."

My face burned. Of course she'd noticed - or someone had. The thing about being invisible is that you think nobody sees you, but actually, everyone sees you. They just don't say anything.

The cable box flickered to life. I stood up, dusting off my knees.

"All set," I said.

"Hey," she called as I reached the door. "You wanna stay? My friends are coming over for Mario Kart. I could use someone who's actually good at video games. Tyler and his crew are total trash."

I looked at my phone. Marcus had texted: *u good? don't stay 2 long.*

I texted back: *might be a while.*

For the first time all summer, the orange shirt didn't feel so ridiculous. Sometimes the worst decisions lead to the best stories - or at least, to people who finally see you.