Goldfish in the Palm

Maya's phone buzzed with another 'u coming?' text. The house party was already fully vibes, and she was still in her bathroom, re-applying eyeliner for the third time. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

When she finally arrived, the bass from the speakers thumped in her chest like a second heartbeat. She immediately gravitated toward the safest spot in the room: the fish tank in the corner, where a lone goldfish floated in neon-lit water, looking as out of place as she felt.

"Nice escape hatch," said a voice behind her. She turned to find Dylan — track team, Instagram bio said 'living life like lightning', the kind of guy who somehow never seemed awkward anywhere.

Maya's palms went instantly sweaty. "Yeah. He's got the right idea. Just chillin', not pretending to know how to talk to people."

Dylan laughed, and it wasn't mean. "That goldfish probably has more social confidence than half the people here. Look at Jordan over there." He pointed at a junior doing the most chaotic version of the sphinx pose on the lawn while someone filmed it for TikTok. "Someone asked Jordan what he'd wish for if he had three wishes, and he said, 'to stop overthinking everything.' Now he's doing riddles to prove he's not in his head."

Something about Dylan's tone — soft, understanding — made Maya actually look at him. Really look at him. He was fidgeting with his phone case, picking at the corner.

"You nervous too?" she asked, surprising herself.

"Terrified," Dylan admitted. "My palms have been sweating since I walked in. I was literally hiding in the kitchen until I saw you over here. Figured if you were calm enough to watch fish, you wouldn't judge me for not knowing how to people."

They ended up sitting cross-legged on the grass, watching Jordan fail to solve his own made-up riddles while the party raged inside. For the first time all night, Maya's hands stopped shaking.

"You know what the goldfish is thinking?" Maya whispered.

"What?"

"Same thing we are: fake it 'til you make it, but it's way cooler when you find someone else who's also faking it."

Dylan's phone buzzed. He ignored it. "Yeah. Way cooler."