Goldfish at the Giant's Party

Maya's phone buzzed with the party invite from Jackson—the senior everyone had a crush on. Her stomach did that nervous flippy thing it always did before social stuff. She'd been crushing on him since homecoming, when he'd smiled at her in the hallway like she actually existed.

You should come tonight, his text read. Everyone's gonna be there.

Maya stared at her reflection. Too tall, too awkward, always saying the wrong thing. Her mom marched in with that I-mean-business expression. "You need your **vitamin** D supplement. And eat something green before you go out."

"Mom, I'm seventeen. I got this."

Her mom dropped a container of **spinach** salad on her desk. "Humor me."

Maya picked at the greens, thinking about how she'd spent her entire life trying to shrink herself into something people wouldn't notice. Being the tall girl who played basketball and got called "ma'am" by teachers in sixth grade wasn't exactly a vibe.

The party was already packed when she arrived. Jackson spotted her immediately, which was both amazing and terrifying. "Hey! You made it!"

"Yeah, I—" Something crunched in her mouth. Oh no. Spinach.

Jackson's eyes went wide. "You got a little..." He gestured at his teeth.

Maya's face burned. She turned to run and literally crashed into Leo, the guy from her history class who always wore that same **goldfish** T-shirt and sat in the back reading manga during lectures.

"Whoa, you okay?" Leo caught her arm. "That was impressive. You almost took me out."

"I'm leaving. I'm never leaving my house again."

Leo looked at Jackson, who was trying not to laugh, then back at Maya. "Wanna get out of here? There's a taco truck down the street."

She'd never really talked to Leo before. But something about his genuine smile made her say yes.

They ended up sitting on the curb eating tacos while he told her about his conspiracy theory that school **bear** mascots were actually government surveillance drones. Maya laughed so hard she nearly choked on her carnitas.

"You know," Leo said, "you're way cooler than anyone at that party."

Maya looked at this guy in his goldfish shirt, making her laugh harder than she had in months, and realized something important: she'd been trying to fit into someone else's story when she could be writing her own.

"Yeah," she said, and for the first time in forever, she actually believed it. "I think I'm good with that."