Electric Roots

Maya stared at the bathroom mirror, her fingers tangling in the frizz that had exploded overnight. Great. Picture day, and her hair looked like she'd stuck a fork in an electrical socket. Again.

"You look... intense," her little brother Leo said from the doorway, holding up his phone. "Mr. Bubbles died."

Maya's stomach dropped. Mr. Bubbles, the carnival goldfish she'd won last summer, had been her first pet that was actually hers. Not the family dog, not her sister's cat. Hers.

"We can flush him together," Leo offered. "Like we did with the last one?"

"No last time you cried the whole time," Maya said, but her voice cracked. Mr. Bubbles had outlasted her parents' divorce, outlasted her disastrous week at soccer camp, outlasted her first real heartbreak when Jason didn't save her a spot at lunch. He was supposed to be immortal.

Outside, thunder rattled the window.

"Storm's coming," Leo said. "Mom says power's gonna go out."

Perfect. Literally perfect.

They buried Mr. Bubbles in the backyard under the oak tree, using a spoon from the kitchen because Maya refused to use her hands. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the fresh mound of dirt.

"He was just a fish," Leo said, but he sounded sad.

"He wasn't just a fish," Maya said. "He was... he was proof I could keep something alive."

The wind whipped her hair everywhere, and suddenly she didn't care. Let it frizz. Let it explode. Mr. Bubbles was gone, her hair was a disaster, and somehow that was okay. Because for the first time, she wasn't trying to be perfect anymore.

Lightning struck somewhere close, and the whole world brightened. In that flash, Maya caught her reflection in the darkened kitchen window—wild hair, smudged mascara, real smile.

She looked alive.

"Wanna order pizza?" Maya asked. "Before the power goes?"

Leo grinned. "Pepperoni?"

"Double pepperoni."

Her hair could wait. The goldfish was gone. But she was still here, and that was enough.