Goldfish and Glory

Leo's stomach did backflips as Jasmine dragged him toward the mechanical bull. Again. Their friend group hung back, trying not to laugh—again.

"You're not gonna let Marcus outshine you, right?" Jasmine raised an eyebrow, her cool-girl facade flickering with something like... encouragement?

Leo's reputation for being allergic to anything risky preceded him. But Marcus—that golden-boy varsity linebacker—had lasted eight seconds on the beast earlier. The social hierarchy at Northwood High didn't need another reminder of where Leo landed.

"Fine."

He climbed on. The bull operator adjusted settings, grinning like he knew exactly how this would go.

The bull LURCHED beneath him. Leo gripped the handle, thighs burning. This was stupid. This was SO bull. But also? He was kinda killing it. Five seconds. Eight. The crowd (okay, like, twelve people) actually cheered.

He sailed off at ten seconds, landing in a heap but GRINNING.

Jasmine nodded. "Not terrible, new guy."

Marcus clapped him on the shoulder, solid and weirdly genuine. "Alright, Leo!"

The bull operator handed him a coupon. "Winner's prize."

Later that night, Leo sat on his bed watching his new goldfish—named Major, obviously—swim in its bowl. His mom had given him That Look when he explained how he'd won it, but she'd just sighed and helped him set up the tank.

"Sometimes," she'd said, "you gotta get on the bull to find your goldfish."

Okay, that made ZERO sense. But as he watched Major bubble at the surface, Leo realized something: he wasn't the guy who avoided risks anymore. He was the guy who'd ridden the bull, lasted longer than Marcus, and walked away with the weirdest prize ever.

And tomorrow? He'd walk into Northwood with a totally different vibe. Maybe he'd even sit at Jasmine's table at lunch.

Major swam to the top and blew a bubble.

Leo smiled. "Yeah, buddy. We're basically legends now."