Feed Store Selfie

Maya pulled her beanie **hat** down to her eyebrows, trying to disappear into the hallway lockers. Three weeks at Northwood High and she was still that girl—the new transfer with the anxious laugh and zero clue where to sit at lunch.

"Yo Maya!" Derek's voice echoed down the corridor. He was cute in that varsity jacket way that made half the school swoon. "Party at my place Friday. You coming?"

"Uh, yeah!" she said, too loud. Derek nodded and kept walking. Maya's stomach dropped. She didn't even have his number, and asking now would be weird.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. An unknown number.

"Hey it's derek lol forgot to ask—bring snacks??"

Maya's thumbs hovered over her **iPhone**, heart racing. This was it. Her chance. She could play it cool, be funny, maybe finally find her people.

She typed, "On it! 🙌 What do you need?"

"idk whatever lol we have a **goldfish** now so maybe fish food?? that's a thing right"

Maya stared at the message. Fish food? Was that a test? Some inside joke she didn't get? Or was Derek actually this random?

"Gotcha! Fish food coming through! 🐟"

Friday night, Maya stood outside Derek's house with a can of goldfish flakes, questioning every life choice that led here. The hat was still pulled low. She could bail. Just walk away and transfer schools again.

"Maya! You made it!" Derek opened the door, grinning. Behind him, she could hear music and laughter. "And you actually got fish food! Nemo's been living the starvation life, you're a literal hero."

The party was chaotic and perfect. Maya ended up in a corner with three other new transfers, all bonded by their collective cluelessness. They took a selfie with Nemo's bowl—fish floating serenely while they made peace signs. Maya's hat stayed on until someone knocked it off during a ridiculous dance circle, and she didn't even scramble to put it back on.

By midnight, Maya had five new contacts in her phone, zero actual fish food consumed, and the realization that she'd been overthinking everything. Sometimes you bring flakes to a party. Sometimes that's exactly what makes you fit in.