The Orange Summer

Marcus stood at the edge of the pool, chlorine stinging his nose, watching the pyramid of popularity float by in the form of Jessica's crew. They'd claimed the best lounge chairs like they owned them, which they basically did—Jessica's dad managed the whole club.

"You gonna jump or what?" Ty called from the deep end, splashing water that caught the sunlight like liquid orange.

"Yeah, yeah," Marcus muttered. He'd been invited, technically. Ty was his baseball teammate, which was the only reason Marcus was even at this party. Tryouts were next week, and Marcus needed every advantage he could get.

The baseball team sat at the top of the school's food pyramid, right below the football players. Marcus had spent three years trying to claw his way up from the bottom—orchestra dork who lucked into a growth spurt and suddenly could throw a fastball.

His dad had been the baseball star back in his day. Played Division I in college before he blew out his shoulder. Now he sold insurance and watched old games on TV, nursing a beer and his glory days.

"Marcus!" Ty yelled. "Come here!"

He swam over, water cascading off his skin. Jessica and her friends were watching from their pyramid of lounge chairs, whispering. One of them—Maya, with her bright orange swimsuit that burned like a sunset—actually smiled at him.

"This is Marcus," Ty announced. "Best pitcher we got."

"Pitcher?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "Show us what you got."

There was a rubber ball floating nearby. Marcus grabbed it, water dripping from his fingers. He wound up and threw—it soared across the pool, splashing down right in front of Jessica's chair.

Everyone stared. Then Jessica laughed, and not in a mean way. "Okay, that was actually impressive."

Maya swam over to him. "So you're the new baseball guy."

"Maybe," Marcus said. "If I make the team."

"You will," she said. "And hey—nice throw." Her orange swimsuit glowed against the blue water.

Floating there, with pyramid hierarchy dissolving around him and the smell of chlorine and summer in the air, Marcus thought: maybe this year would be different. Maybe the orange slice of sunlight cutting through the water wasn't just a moment—it was a whole new season.