Goldfish and Spinach Teeth

Lily's phone buzzed during third period lunch. *Party at Jake's tonight. You coming?*

She stared at the message, picking at the spinach stuck in her braces. Social gatherings weren't exactly her vibe. But Emma had been pestering her to "get out there" and "live a little" or whatever.

Fine.

By 8 PM, she stood in Jake's crowded living room, clutching a red solo cup like it was a lifeline. The air smelled like cheap body spray and desperation. Someone's hat — a backward baseball cap — sat abandoned on the coffee table, surrounded by a sea of phones documenting the night.

Then she saw him.

Marcus, the fox who'd ghosted her last month after two weeks of "talking." He was laughing with Jessica, his hand on her waist like he owned her. Lily's stomach did that thing where it twisted into knots while simultaneously trying to exit her body through her throat.

She needed air.

The back porch had fewer people. A girl she recognized from AP Bio sat on a plastic chair, staring into a small bowl.

"That's not a dog," Lily said, gesturing to the bowl.

"It's a goldfish," the girl replied. "Won it at the carnival earlier. His name is Carl."

"Cool. Very... fish naming skills."

The girl laughed. "I'm Sam, by the way. And you're Lily, right? We sit three rows apart in Bio."

"Yeah. Sorry, I'm terrible at names. Unless you're the person who ghosted me, apparently."

"Marcus?" Sam rolled her eyes. "Classic fox behavior. He pulled the same thing with my friend last semester. His emotional intelligence is lower than Carl's."

Lily found herself grinning. Inside, someone shouted about beer pong. Out here, it was just her, Sam, and a fish named Carl.

"You know," Sam said, "I've been running from these parties for months. Always felt like I had to perform or whatever. But this? This is fine."

"Yeah," Lily said, actually meaning it. "This is fine."

Her phone buzzed again. Emma: *?????*

Lily typed back: *It's chill. Met a fish.*

Spinach still stuck in her braces, standing on a stranger's back porch while the fox inside pretended to be human, Lily finally felt like she could breathe. Being a teenager was weird and messy and sometimes you found the good stuff when you weren't looking for it at all.

"Want to meet Carl?" Sam asked.

"Absolutely."