The Summer Everything Changed

Marcus stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, clippers buzzing in his hand. The **hair** that had defined him all freshman year—curly, shoulder-length, his mom called it his poet look—was about to hit the floor. He'd spent months growing it out because Lily said she liked guys with longer hair. Lily, who'd been dating Tyler from the baseball team since February.

The clippers slipped, taking a chunk right above his ear. Well, that decided it.

Twenty minutes later, Marcus ran a hand over his freshly buzzed head. He looked different. Fierce. Like someone who didn't care what anyone thought.

Downstairs, his dad was wrestling with the TV. "Stupid **cable** company," he muttered. "You pay them ninety bucks a month and what do you get? Static."

Marcus flopped onto the couch. Baseball practice started in an hour. Coach had been nagging him about joining the team all spring. "You've got an arm, kid. Don't waste it on video games." But Marcus had always preferred the bleachers to the batter's box—better view of Lily, back when she still noticed him existed.

His dad gave up on the TV and turned to him, pausing. "Whoa. That's... different."

"Yeah."

"You look like a **baseball** player now."

Marcus snorted. "Maybe I'll try out next week."

"Maybe you should. Your old coach Miller called yesterday. Asked if you'd consider helping with the summer league team. The little kids."

Something clicked. Lily had never liked sports. Tyler had quit baseball to focus on "more important things" (which turned out to be vaping behind the gym). Maybe Marcus had been trying to be the wrong person all along.

"Tell Coach I'll be there tomorrow," Marcus said, and meant it.

His phone buzzed. A text from Lily: saw you at the mall. looking good.

Marcus stared at it for a long moment, then typed back: thanks. and deleted the photo app where he'd kept her picture as his wallpaper for six months.

The cable was still out, but Marcus didn't care. He had somewhere to be tomorrow, someone to be, and for the first time in forever, he actually liked who that was.