Vitamin D Deficiency

The beanie was practically fused to my scalp at this point. Mom's emergency backup Vitamin D pills clinked in my pocket as I stood at the edge of the cavelike pool deck. Maya's End-of-School-Soon-Start-of-Summer pool party. The invite said 6 PM. It was now 6:03, and I was still hyperventilating behind the lounge chairs.

"You coming in or what?" It was Jake. The Jake. Apparently chlorine makes his curls look stupid-good, which is honestly offensive.

"Just, uh, warming up," I lied. My palms were sweating so much I'd probably leave actual puddles on my shorts. Which would be embarrassing on approximately seventeen levels.

He frowned. "You've been wearing that hat since November. It's eighty degrees."

Touché.

The hat was my armor. Underneath? Hair that had been through it since the Incident with the scissors and a TikTok tutorial at 2 AM. The grown-out mullet situation was not ready for its public debut.

Maya cannonballed in, surfacing like a dolphin on caffeine. "Jordan! Take off the hat! The chlorine won't bite!"

Everyone was watching now. This was it. The moment. My hands were literally shaking as I reached up and pulled off the beanie.

Dead silence.

Then Maya yelled, "Okay that's actually kind of iconic?" and Jake just nodded and said "Sick" and suddenly I was diving into the pool, chlorine stinging my eyes, feeling something shift in my chest like everything was going to be weirdly okay.

Later, sitting on the pool edge with my legs in the water, Maya handed me a popsicle. "You know," she said, "you literally just need some sun. You're looking peak pale."

I laughed. "Yeah. My mom literally made me bring vitamins."

"Weird flex, but okay."

The hat stayed off all night. Sometimes the scariest things are just jumping in anyway.