Goldfish Confessions

The problem with having a crush on your best friend's brother is that you basically become a low-key spy. Maya's phone was always blowing up with notifications, but somehow she managed to scroll through Jake's Instagram story for the third time today without getting caught.

"You're doing it again," said Chloe, popping up behind her with zero warning. Maya nearly dropped her phone into her open backpack, where Bubbles—her emergency therapy goldfish from sophomore year biology—swam obliviously in his travel bowl. "Your spy game is weak, bestie. Jake's gonna catch you staring at his profile like a total creep."

"I wasn't spying," Maya lied, cheeks heating up. "I was... double-tapping. For the algorithm."

"Sure you were." Chloe flopped onto Maya's bed, already knowing this routine by heart. "Just like you 'accidentally' showed up at his track meet yesterday?"

Okay, fair point. Maya had been running late to literally everything since Jake joined the track team. She'd started taking the long way to her locker just to pass by the gym doors. Pathetic? Maybe. But watching him run was mesmerizing—the way he moved like he was outrunning something, fierce and focused and completely unaware that Maya existed beyond being "Chloe's quiet friend."

Bubbles did a lazy flip in his bowl, his orange scales catching the afternoon sun. Sometimes Maya felt like a goldfish—swimming in tiny circles, forgetting everything every three seconds, forever trapped behind glass. Not brave enough to make a move, not cowardly enough to fully give up.

"The spring fling's in two weeks," Chloe said, flipping through Maya's chem notes like they were gossip magazines. "Jake's going solo. I heard him telling his friends he's 'taking a break from situationships.'"

Maya's stomach did this nervous flutter thing. "What does that even mean?"

"It means you should stop being a spy and actually talk to him." Chloe stood up, already plotting. "I'm done watching you pine. We're making a move."

"I literally just want to survive high school without humiliating myself," Maya protested, but she was already grabbing her shoes.

"Too late for that," Chloe grinned, dragging her toward the door. "You're the girl who carries a goldfish in her backpack. The bar is on the floor."

Maya laughed despite herself. Somewhere between Bubbles doing another flip and her heart beating way too fast, she realized Chloe was right. No more spying through screens and running away from moments. It was time to swim toward something real.