Goldfish Confessions

The pink hair disaster stared back at me from the mirror. Like, actually pink. Not the "rose gold subtle vibes" I was going for, but full-on cotton candy explosion pink. My phone buzzed on the counter—Marcus, asking what time I'd be at the party tonight.

I sank onto my bathroom floor and stared at my goldfish, Neptune, swimming in his bowl on my dresser. "Dude, I can't go out like this," I whispered. Neptune just did a little flip and ignored me. Typical.

Three hours of washing later, my hair was now a weird peachy-orange that somehow looked worse. My mom knocked on my door. "Honey, Marcus is here!"

I considered faking sick. I considered moving to another country. But then I heard Marcus laughing with my dad in the living room—that genuine laugh that always made my chest feel weird.

I put on my favorite hoodie, grabbed my phone, and went to bear it. Literally and figuratively. I'd have to bear the humiliation.

Marcus's eyes went wide when he saw me. "Whoa. Your hair..."

"I know," I said, already feeling my face burn. "It's a disaster. I can still cancel if—"

"No, it's not that." He stepped closer, tilting his head. "It's actually kind of awesome? Like, you're always so careful with everything, but this is just... bold. It's cool."

I blinked. "Really?"

"Really." He smiled, and it reached his eyes. "Plus, it matches the goldfish I won you at the carnival last month. That thing's gotta be good luck."

I looked at my reflection one more time. Maybe peachy-orange wasn't so bad. Maybe being the girl who showed up to the biggest party of the year with accidentally pink hair wasn't the worst thing that could happen.

"Ready?" Marcus held out his hand.

"Yeah," I said, and actually meant it. "Let's go."