Goldfish Dreams & Bad WiFi

The cable internet died again, right when I was finally going to live-stream with Jada. I'd been hyping this stream for weeks to my followers, and now I was just another teenager with a spinning wheel of death and mounting anxiety.

My parents were fighting in the kitchen about money, so I escaped to my room and flopped onto my bean bag chair. My pet goldfish, Goldie Hawn, swam lazy circles in her bowl on my desk. She was living her best life while I was over here trying to become internet famous and failing spectacularly.

"Why does life have to be so complicated?" I texted my friend.

Jada replied instantly, like always. "U okay? What happened?"

"Everything. My parents are fighting again, the WiFi is down, and I feel like I'm swimming in circles like Goldie."

"Girl, same. My mom made me eat this spinach salad for dinner because she's on some health kick now. It was literally so gross."

I giggled, picturing Jada picking at spinach with that disgusted face she always makes. "At least your mom's trying to be healthy. My parents are just... they're struggling, Jads. With everything."

The truth hovered between us. Jada knew my family was having money problems. She knew I worked at the grocery store to help pay bills while other girls were getting their nails done and planning spring break trips. But she never made me feel weird about it.

"Hey," she texted. "Remember when we accidentally killed the class goldfish in 5th grade because we forgot to feed it over spring break?"

"OMG don't remind me!"

"Well, at least Goldie Hawn is still alive. That's progress, right?"

I looked at Goldie swimming peacefully in her bowl, completely unaware of how complicated life was about to get. I thought about how fragile things were - friendships, internet connections, families. All of it swimming in circles, trying to stay alive.

"You're a good friend," I typed.

"Duh. Now come over. My WiFi works, and I have snacks that are NOT spinach."

I grabbed my hoodie and headed out, leaving Goldie to her peaceful circles. Some things, I realized, were simpler than others. And sometimes, that was enough.