Goldfish at the Padel Court

Maya's palms were sweating. Like, actually sweating. She wiped them on her denim shorts for the third time, watching Tyler crush the padel ball across the court. His hair was a mess of curls that bounced when he moved, and Maya had been trying not to stare at him for forty-five minutes.

"You're up, Maya," Chloe yelled from the sidelines, not looking up from her phone.

Right. The tournament. The one Maya had somehow been roped into despite being approximately the least athletic person at Riverside High. She gripped the racket, her heart doing that weird fluttery thing it always did when Tyler was nearby.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Probably her mom asking about the goldfish – the one Maya had won at the carnival last night and was now somehow responsible for keeping alive. A literal life in her hands. The pressure was unreal.

"Maya? You gonna hit that or just look at it?" Tyler laughed, jogging over. His eyes were that annoyingly perfect shade of brown.

"Yeah, sorry. Thinking about... strategy?" Lame. So lame.

She swung at the ball and missed completely. It hit the fence behind her with a pathetic thud.

"Smooth," Chloe said.

After the game – which Maya's team lost, obviously – everyone headed to the lake. Someone brought a speaker. Someone else brought actual sparkling water like they were fancy adults or something. Maya sat on the dock, feet dangling in the water, watching Tyler and his friends mess around near the shore.

"So," Tyler said, suddenly sitting next to her. Too close. Definitely too close. "About that carnival last night."

Maya's stomach did a full gymnastics routine. "What about it?"

"I saw you win that fish. Pretty impressive skills."

"The goldfish? Yeah, he's named Gerald. He's currently living on my desk because my mom says 'no pets in the house' except apparently Gerald doesn't count as a real pet?"

Tyler laughed, and Maya felt something shift in her chest. "Gerald. Nice. You know, I had a goldfish once. Named him Fish Steve."

"Fish Steve?"

"I was seven. Cut me some slack."

The sun was setting over the water, turning everything gold and pink. Maya looked at Tyler, really looked at him, and realized his palms were resting on the dock between them, just inches from hers.

"Hey," he said, voice quieter now. "You want to come over later? Gerald might need a friend. I could introduce him to Fish Steve II."

Maya smiled, feeling something light and hopeful bloom in her chest. "Fish Steve II lives?"

"Metaphorically." He grinned. "So?"

"Yeah," Maya said. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Her phone buzzed again – probably her mom asking about Gerald's water situation – but Maya ignored it. Some things were more important than fish maintenance.