Goldfish in the Palm

Maya's palms were sweating. Again. She wiped them on her jeans for the third time, grateful the dim gym lights hid her nerves. The Spring Fling was two hours away, and she was currently hiding in the locker room, having what her mom would call a "moment" and what Maya would call a full-blown existential crisis.

"You're not seriously bailing, are you?" Chloe appeared in the doorway, already dressed in a shimmering silver dress that caught every available photon. "Jordan's literally been asking about you all week."

"I think I'm sick," Maya lied. "Or maybe dying. Either works."

Chloe rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful. "You're not dying. You're just overthinking everything like always. Remember when you got invited to that party in October and spent three hours researching conversation starters on Reddit?"

"Those conversation starters were actually solid, thank you very much."

"You asked someone about their zodiac sign within the first minute." Chloe deadpanned. "Who does that?"

Okay, fair. Maya's social skills were basically a series of awkward encounters strung together by caffeine and anxiety. But this was different. Jordan had transferred to their school three months ago, and somehow in that time, they'd become Maya's designated lab partner, hallway walking companion, and the person who somehow made her forget to overthink everything.

Which was terrifying.

"What if I say something weird?" Maya protested. "What if I trip? What if my dress has a tag sticking out and everyone sees and I become the hashtag #SpringFlingFail?"

"First of all, nobody uses hashtags anymore, grandma. Second, Jordan literally waited for you after practice for TWO HOURS yesterday because you forgot your phone." Chloe stepped closer. "That's not someone who's gonna care if you're awkward. They clearly like you for some reason."

The bell rang, signaling everyone should head to the gym.

Maya's phone buzzed. Jordan: "Hey, I know this might be random but I was wondering if you wanted to maybe hang out sometime? Like, outside of school? No pressure lol"

Chloe peeked over her shoulder and let out the loudest gasp in human history. "MAYA."

"I know!"

"You have to answer! RIGHT NOW."

"I can't just—"

"YES YOU CAN." Chloe grabbed her shoulders. "Maya, listen to me. You are funny, you're smart, and you helped me keep that goldfish alive for an entire semester which is basically a miracle because that fish was determined to die. You can do this."

The goldfish. Mr. Glitters. They'd rescued him from a carnival prize situation sophomore year, and somehow, against all odds, he was still swimming in his bowl on Maya's dresser, judging her life choices with his fishy little face.

If she could keep a carnival goldfish alive, she could send a text. Probably.

"Okay," Maya said, her heart practically running a marathon in her chest. "Okay."

She typed: "Hey! Yeah, I'd really like that :)

"NO EMOJI," Chloe hissed. "Too desperate."

"It's a smiley face, Chloe."

"Remove it. I'm not kidding."

Maya deleted it. "There. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." Chloe checked her phone. "Jordan already responded. They said 'awesome, see you tonight :)'"

"Wait, THEY used an emoji!"

"That's different!"

Maya laughed, some of the anxiety finally loosening its grip. "You're the worst."

"I'm the best." Chloe linked her arm through Maya's. "Now come on. We're going to this dance, you're going to talk to Jordan, and I'm going to document everything for my TikTok."

"You're not filming me."

"I'm absolutely filming you. This is content, Maya."

As they walked toward the gym, Maya's palms were still a little sweaty. But as she spotted Jordan already waiting by the punch bowl, wearing a slightly rumpled suit and looking almost as nervous as she felt, she thought maybe that was okay.

Sometimes the best things happened when you stopped running away and just stayed in the moment.

Even if your best friend was definitely going to embarrass you on social media later.