The Vitamin D Debacle

Chloe's brother Jake was obsessed with the orange vitamin gummies their mom bought in bulk from Costco. 'Bro, these things are basically candy,' he'd say, popping three at a time. 'It's called nutrition.'

It was the last week of junior year, and Chloe had bigger problems than her brother's supplement addiction. She'd finally agreed to go to Taylor's end-of-school pool party—the kind of thing she normally avoided because, well, people.

'You're not gonna hide in your room all summer,' Jake had told her. 'Go. Have fun. Meet humans.'

Now she was standing in Taylor's backyard, clutching her towel like a shield. The pool glittered with that fake-blue water that smelled like chemicals and teenage awkwardness. Someone had connected Bluetooth speakers, and the bass thumped against her chest.

Then she saw him: Lucas from her AP Chem class, sitting on the patio with a baseball cap pulled low, eating chips like he'd never heard of social anxiety. They'd made eye contact exactly twice all semester, but Chloe had definitely spent more time than she'd admit thinking about his ridiculous eyelashes.

'Hey, Chem partner,' he said, and okay, he'd noticed her too.

'The one who almost burned down the lab,' she replied, then wanted to die immediately. Smooth, Chloe.

But Lucas laughed. 'Nah, that was definitely me. You were the one who saved our grade.' He patted the empty chair beside him. 'Wanna join me in avoiding the pool?'

'Same. I'll change into regular clothes and hang.'

'Perfect.' He gestured toward a bowl of fruit. 'Want an orange? I peeled it like twenty minutes ago and forgot about it.'

She took it, their fingers brushing, and suddenly this party didn't feel like a minefield anymore.

Later, Chloe would find Jake in her room, wearing her stolen baseball cap from middle school—the one she'd used for that brief phase where she pretended to understand sports.

'So?' he asked. 'How was it?'

She'd gotten Lucas's number. They were going to study together, which probably wasn't code for anything, but maybe?

'Did you know,' Jake continued, 'that vitamin D deficiency can actually cause depression? Mom says we're both at risk because we never go outside.'

Chloe laughed and threw a pillow at him. Some brothers were annoying. But sometimes, they were also kind of right about things.

'Thanks, Jake,' she said. 'For making me go.'

'Whatever,' he muttered, already walking away with her vitamin gummies. 'Just don't make me hang out with your new boyfriend. That's where I draw the line.'

Boyfriend. The word hit her like a truck. Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully.

She grabbed an orange from the kitchen and ate it in her room, scrolling through her new contact and smiling like the massive dork she was learning to embrace.