Goldfish in the Deep End

The chlorine stung my eyes, but I kept them open. Watching. Waiting. This was it — my chance to finally talk to Maya without my voice cracking or saying something weird.

I adjusted my beanie, even though it was eighty degrees and everyone else was in swimsuits. The hat was my armor. Take it off, and suddenly I'm just Aaron — the quiet kid who sits three rows back in history. With it, I'm mysterious. Edgy. At least that's what I told myself.

"Yo Aaron, you gonna swim or just pose by the snacks?" Carlos yelled, splashing water my way. I jumped back, nearly knocking over the bowl of chips.

"I'm good," I mumbled, tugging the brim lower.

Across the pool, Maya floated on an inflatable unicorn, laughing at something Jake said. Jake, who had no problem cannonballing into the deep end without overthinking it. Jake, whose hair somehow looked perfect wet.

The PETCO bag sat on the patio table behind me — my mom's prize from the carnival earlier. A goldfish in a plastic bag, swirling in its own private ocean. The thing had barely survived the ring toss.

"Little guy's got more game than you," Carlos said, appearing beside me with wet hair and a smirk. "At least he's in the water."

I looked at the goldfish, barely moving in its bagged world. "Yeah, well. He's got it easy. No one's watching him."

"Bro, he's literally at a party with twenty people staring at him." Carlos pointed, and yeah, Jenna and her friends were cooing over it. "And he's just doing his thing. Not overthinking it."

The sound system cut out mid-song. Someone yelled about the HDMI cable coming loose, and suddenly it was just people talking, splashing, existing. No backdrop.

Maya swam over to the edge, pulling herself up. Water dripped from her hair. "Hey Aaron, you gonna help us name this fish or what?"

I froze. This was it. The opening I'd been waiting for all summer.

"He looks like a Cornelius," I said, before I could stop myself.

Maya laughed. Not a fake laugh. A real one. "Cornelius. Yeah. I can see that."

She looked at me, really looked at me. "You coming in? The water's actually not that deep once you're in it."

I looked at the goldfish — Cornelius — just swimming along, no hesitation. Then I pulled off my hat and set it on the table.

"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I'm coming."

And maybe it was the chlorine in my eyes or the summer heat or just the fact that I finally did it, but as I jumped in, I didn't overthink it at all.