The Bear at the Bottom of the Pool

I was supposed to be running varsity track this summer, but instead I was stuck working as the mascot at the neighborhood pool—wearing a sweaty brown bear costume while seventh graders laughed at my expense. "Do a trick, Bear!" some kid shouted, pelting me with marshmallows.

I'd taken the job to save up for concert tickets, but mostly I was hiding. Hiding from the fact that I'd choked at regionals, hiding from Jamal, and hiding from the memory of my goldfish, Bubbles, who'd died the same week I'd bombed my race. My life had become one giant awkward pause.

Then Maya showed up at the pool's edge, wearing that vintage sphinx T-shirt from the thrift store downtown—the one with the riddle "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, three in the evening?" printed across the front. She was the kind of quiet that made you want to lean in and listen closer.

"Hey Bear," she said, dropping her towel on the lounge chair beside my post. "Hot in there?"

I stripped off the bear head, revealing my sweaty face and cornrows gone frizzy. "You have no idea."

She'd been in my AP Euro class all year but we'd never actually spoken. Now she was grinning at me like she knew something I didn't. "My little brother says you're the best bear they've had. Previous guy just waved and looked sad. You actually commit to the bit."

"Committing to the bit is my specialty," I said, then immediately cringed. WHY did I say that?

Mayla laughed, and the sound was better than race-day adrenaline. "So I heard about regionals. That thing with your shoe coming untied? That was some freak bad luck."

My face burned hotter than the inside of this bear suit. "Yeah. Well. It is what it is."

"My coach says you're still the fastest freshman he's seen," she said, grabbing her phone. "He's doing this summer track clinic. Free for people who, you know, had technical difficulties."

I stared at her. "You run?"

"Sprints. But I'm thinking about trying long distance next season." She looked at me with those eyes that saw everything. "Want to train together? We could run at the park before your shift. Bear needs his cardio."

Something in my chest shifted, like the moment before a starting gun goes off. "Yeah," I said, and for the first time since regionals, I wanted to run toward something instead of away from it. "Yeah, I'd like that."