Summer Storm at the Miller's

The backward **hat** was Jaylen's armor. Worn just so, brim flipped up, it said I don't care without him having to actually say it. But standing at the edge of the **pool** at Tyler Miller's end-of-school party, he cared way too much.

Inside the pool, splash wars and laughter echoed. Girls in cute swimsuits, guys showing off their cannonballs. Jaylen hovered on the perimeter, nursing a lukewarm soda. This was supposed to be the party of the year, but he felt like he was watching it through glass.

Then the sky cracked open.

**Lightning** spider-webbed across the darkening sky, and someone screamed as thunder shook the patio. Everyone scrambled out of the water, grabbing towels, rushing toward the Miller's back porch. Chaos and laughter all mixed together.

That's when Jaylen saw it – a lonely **baseball** rolling toward the deep end, probably from earlier when some guys were playing catch. Without thinking, he dove in fully clothed—hat and all—to grab it before it sank.

He surfaced, sopping wet, hat plastered to his head, baseball held high like a prize.

"DUDE!" someone yelled. "You just full-on cannonballed in your jeans!"

The porch went quiet for a split second, then erupted. Jaylen's armor was gone, literally soaked through, but somehow that was okay. Maya from his English class handed him a towel with this look that made his stomach do flip-flops.

"That was actually kind of badass," she said.

Tyler Miller high-fived him. "Jaylen, man, you're legendary now."

The hat was ruined. His shoes were squishing. But for the first time all summer, Jaylen wasn't on the perimeter anymore. Sometimes you have to dive in fully clothed to finally fit in.