The Vitamin C Conspiracy

Sam stood at the edge of the pool, clutching his water bottle like it was a lifeline. Which, honestly, it kinda was. Tryouts for the swim team were tomorrow, and his best friend Jordan had spent the last three weeks hyping him up

"You got this, bro," Jordan said, appearing behind him with that annoyingly confident energy. "Just don't think about it."

"Don't think about it? That's your advice?" Sam gulped down more water, his stomach already doing that thing where it felt like he'd swallowed a fish.

"That's literally what you're supposed to do." Jordan adjusted his backward snapback. "Anyway, my cousin's friend said Coach Miller picks people based on vibes. So vibing is literally half the battle."

Sam stared at him. "Vibing. For a swim team."

"That's not even the weirdest part." Jordan lowered his voice. "My mom's trying to get me to sell those vitamin supplements now. You know, the ones with the whole pyramid scheme thing?"

Sam snorted. "She fell for that?"

"She swears she's gonna make six figures." Jordan rolled his eyes so hard it looked painful. "But here's the thing—she said if I sell five bottles, she'll buy me these limited edition baseball cards I've been wanting."

Sam's stomach did another flip, but this time it wasn't from nerves. "Wait, you're actually doing it?"

"I mean, five bottles? Easy." Jordan shrugged. "Uncle Jerry already bought three."

"You're exploiting Uncle Jerry?" Sam couldn't help it—he laughed. "The man who literally gave you fifty dollars for your birthday last month?"

"He's gonna buy vitamins anyway, might as well buy them from me." Jordan grinned, completely unbothered. "You want one? I'll give you the friend discount."

"Pass." Sam turned back to the pool, watching the morning light catch the ripples. Something about the water looked different today. Less scary, maybe. Or maybe he was just distracted by the absolute absurdity of his best friend's life.

"You know," Jordan said, suddenly quiet. "If you make the team, I'll come to every meet. I'll even make one of those embarrassing signs."

Sam smiled at the water. "With spelling mistakes?"

"Multiple. At least three." Jordan bumped his shoulder. "Now get in there before Coach changes his mind about the whole vibes thing."