Goldfish in the Palm

The fairground spun with neon lights and cotton candy vapor, but Leo's stomach was doing backflips that had nothing to do with the Tilt-A-Whirl. He'd been crushing on Maya since seventh period English, and tonight she was actually standing three feet from him, laughing at something her friend said.

"Dude, are you gonna do this or what?" Marcus elbowed him. "You've been running mental laps around her since September."

Leo's palms were sweating. He wiped them on his jeans—classic loser move, whatever. The carnival barker at the ring toss booth caught his eye. "Step right up! Win a prize for your lady!"

His lady. If only.

Leo handed over five dollars, his heart hammering like a trapped bird in his chest. The rings sailed through the humid night air, one after another. First ring: miss. Second: total fail. Third—

Clink. Perfect landing around a glass bottle.

"We have a winner!" The barker thrust a plastic bag into his hand. Inside swam a single goldfish, its scales shimmering orange under the carnival lights.

Maya turned. "Wait, you actually won something?"

"Yeah." Leo held up the bag like it was the Olympics torch. "His name is Clarence."

Maya dissolved into giggles, and something in Leo's chest unlocked. "You named him Clarence? That's so random." She stepped closer, her shoulder brushing his arm. "Can I see him?"

Their fingers touched as she held the bag. Clarence the goldfish swam in lazy circles, completely unaware he was currently facilitating peak teen romance.

"You know," Maya said, "my cat would probably eat him in two seconds."

"I'll protect Clarence with my life," Leo said, and she laughed again, but different this time—softer, like she was actually seeing him.

Then she pointed across the fairground. "I bet you wouldn't last five seconds on that mechanical bull."

The bull in question was currently bucking some college bro into the dirt.

"Challenge accepted," Leo said, before his brain could process what a terrible idea this was.

The operator strapped him on, and Maya stood right in front, phone raised. "Show 'em what you got, Clarence's dad!"

The bull exploded beneath him. Leo lasted exactly 2.3 seconds before getting launched into the air mat, dignity intact but barely. Maya was doubled over laughing, filming the whole disaster.

He scrambled up, breathless, grinning like an idiot. The bull had won. Maya had won. But as she handed him his phone—she'd put her number in it, pressed into his palm like a secret—Leo figured he might've won something too.

"Clarence needs a proper tank," she said. "Want to go to PetSmart tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Leo said, heart pounding. "Yeah, I really do."