Goldfish in the Deep End

The pool party at Jake's house was supposed to be Maya's comeback moment. After spending freshman year as basically a ghost, she was finally going to be seen.

"You got this," she whispered to herself, adjusting her bikini top. The truth was, she didn't got this. Her stomach did that thing where it felt like a swarm of angry bees were having a mosh pit inside her.

She grabbed an orange slice from the snack table, needing something to do with her hands. That's when she saw Jordan—the actual Jordan, who somehow got more gorgeous over summer break—walking toward her with that effortless swagger that made everyone else seem like they were trying too hard.

"Hey Maya," he said, and oh god, he remembered her name. "Nice party."

"Yeah! Jake really knows how to—"

Before she could finish, Jake came sprinting out of nowhere, brandishing a plastic bag like it was nuclear waste. "Dude! Your sister's goldfish escaped! She's gonna literally murder me!"

The bag ripped. Four tiny goldfish cascaded out in slow motion, landing directly in the pool.

"NO!" Jake screamed.

What happened next was exactly the kind of chaos that only occurs when seventeen people who've been drinking sodas all day are suddenly faced with aquatic emergency. Everyone started splashing, trying to "save" the fish, which obviously made things worse.

"Stop! You're literally water-boarding them!" Maya shouted, wading in. Her bare foot caught on something, and she went down face-first.

She came up sputtering, hair plastered to her face, dignity gone. Jordan was watching. Jordan was definitely watching.

But then he started laughing. Not mean laughing—like, actual amusement. "That was epic. You literally bear-crawled into that rescue."

"Shut up," she said, wiping water from her eyes. "I saved them, though."

"You saved zero goldfish," someone pointed out. "They're literally still down there."

Later, after the fish had been properly rescued and Maya had spent twenty minutes fixing her hair in the bathroom, Jordan found her by the snack table again.

"You have something in your teeth," he said, smiling.

She checked the mirror. A piece of spinach. From the spinach dip she hadn't even eaten. The universe was clearly testing her.

"So," Jordan said. "Wanna hang out next weekend? Maybe somewhere without fish?"

Maya smiled, actually smiled for real. "Only if you promise to rescue me if I drown."

"Deal."