For one perfect, silent moment, the awkwardness was no longer his alone. It had become a shared deluge. And he laughed.
Not a drizzle. Not a summer sprinkle. A torrent —the kind of rain that bends trees and turns lawns into instant lakes. Everyone screamed, grabbing cushions and phones. Marcus didn’t move. Within seconds, he was soaked. But so was everyone else. The kiddie pool overflowed. The Band-Aid washed onto a rose bush. awkward. torrent
Then, the sky broke.
The invitation said “pool party,” so Marcus showed up in neon swim trunks and flip-flops. The backyard, however, held a kiddie pool—the hard plastic kind with a fading cartoon fish on the bottom. Three inches of tepid water. A single floating Band-Aid. For one perfect, silent moment, the awkwardness was