Goldfish Behind the Palm

The orange hoodie had seemed like a good idea this morning. Now, standing in the corner of Jordan's basement party, I felt like a traffic cone. A traffic cone holding a plastic bag with a confused goldfish named Mr. Bubbles.

"You coming out or what?" Tyler yelled over the bass, already three drinks deep.

"In a minute," I said, like I had any intention of leaving my safe spot behind the giant fake palm plant.

Here's the thing about being fifteen: you spend half your time wishing you were invisible, and the other half wishing someone would finally notice you. I was currently doing both. Behind this plastic palm, I was basically a ninja. A ninja with zero chill and a carnival prize I'd won because Sadie dared me to.

Mr. Bubbles swam lazily in his bag, judging me with those fishy eyes. Whatever, dude. You're the one who got fished out of a tank.

Then I saw her. Maya, leaning against the ping pong table, laughing at something Lucas said. My stomach did that thing where it forgets how to stomach. I'd been what the kids call "spying" on her since seventh grade, which mostly meant memorizing her schedule and absolutely never talking to her.

Social media stalking? That's just research.

Maya looked up and our eyes met through the palm fronds. I froze. She smiled. Not the polite smile you give people you tolerate. The real one.

I ducked behind the palm like a total coward.

"Hey," someone said right next to me. I jumped, nearly sending Mr. Bubbles airborne.

Maya was standing there, orange soda in hand, perfectly unbothered. "Nice fish."

"Mr. Bubbles," I said, because my brain had stopped working. "I mean, that's his name. Not that he has bubbles. He's a fish."

She laughed. "I know what a goldfish is, Leo." She held out her hand. "I'm Maya."

"I know," I said automatically, then wanted to die. "I mean, I've seen you around. School. We have English together."

"I know," she said, and she was still smiling. "Want to show me your fish?"

So there I was, orange hoodie and all, showing the prettiest girl at school a goldfish I'd won because I couldn't say no to a dare. And somehow, for the first time all night, I didn't feel like hiding anymore.