The Goldfish Were Watching
Maya's existence had officially transitioned into zombie mode. Three weeks into sophomore year, and she was already functioning on autopilot—dragging herself through first period b...
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Maya's existence had officially transitioned into zombie mode. Three weeks into sophomore year, and she was already functioning on autopilot—dragging herself through first period b...
I felt like a straight-up zombie. Fourth night in a row staying up until 3AM doom-scrolling, and now here I was, stuck working the concession stand at my brother's baseball game. M...
Maya stood at the edge of the padel court, gripping her rented racquet like it might actually make her belong here. Summer camp at Lake Wawayanda had been her mom's idea—something ...
The chlorine stung my eyes, or maybe that was just the humiliation. Kai's pool party raged around me—bass thumping, bodies splashing, the whole Instagram-worthy scene. And me? Stuc...
Maya's hair had other plans today. After forty minutes with the flat iron, it still poofed like she'd stuck a fork in an electrical socket. Great. First day as a sophomore, and she...
The pool party at Tyler's house was supposed to be legendary, but Maya stood at the shallow end in her oversized t-shirt, watching everyone else living their best lives. The swimmi...
The pool shimmered like liquid turquoise under the mid-July sun, but Maya's stomach did nervous backflips. She stood at the edge of the freshman party wearing her most minimal biki...
Maya's plan to survive sophomore year invisible was going perfectly until she accidentally signed up to be the school mascot. "You'll be fine," Jenna had said, sliding the signup ...
Freshman year existed at the bottom of the food chain—or what Tyler's older brother called the high school social pyramid. Tyler had spent the first month trying to become invisibl...
The summer before sophomore year, my best friend Carlos decided we needed glow-ups. Like, actual scientific ones. He bought these massive vitamin supplements from some sketchy site...
Maya had rehearsed this moment approximately eight thousand times in her bathroom mirror. Lean against the pool fence. Casual laugh. Something about Netflix. Cool. Effortless. The ...
The Country Club was basically a different planet. One where sixteen-year-olds drove BMWs to their padel lessons and wore outfits costing more than my entire wardrobe. "You coming...