Goldfish Luck

The pool party at Jenna's house was supposed to be my chance to finally talk to Marcus. He'd been in my AP Bio class all year, and I'd spent months perfecting the art of looking casual while actually staring at the back of his head. Now, in my oversized t-shirt covering my bikini (because, apparently, I'd forgotten how to dress myself overnight), I sat on the edge of the pool, legs in the water, clutching a plastic bag like it contained my life's savings.

Inside swam Goldie — a goldfish I'd won at the carnival earlier that day. The same carnival where Marcus had appeared out of nowhere, leaned against the game booth, and said, "You know, those fish usually die in like, three days." Then he'd smiled, and my brain had short-circuited, and I'd somehow managed to toss a ping-pong ball into a tiny bowl and win this fish.

"Nice goldfish," someone said, and I looked up to see Marcus standing there, dripping wet, his hair plastered to his forehead. "Still alive?"

"Barely," I managed, my voice doing that embarrassing thing where it cracks at random. "I think I'm emotionally attached now. It's a whole situation."

He laughed, and just as he opened his mouth to say something else, Jenna's orange cat came streaking across the patio, hot on the heels of someone's runaway volleyball. The cat — whose name was Pineapple, because Jenna was weird like that — leaped straight onto my lap, sending Goldie's bag flying.

The plastic bag sailed through the air in what felt like slow motion, landing directly in the center of the pool.

"NO!" I screamed, already halfway to my feet, but Marcus was faster. He dove in, fully clothes, and surfaced a moment later holding the dripping bag triumphantly.

"Saved," he said, grinning like this was the most heroic thing anyone had ever done. "Goldie lives to swim another day."

Pineapple sat on the patio looking offended that nobody was appreciating her athletic contribution. Everyone was staring, but Marcus just walked over, dripping pool water everywhere, and handed me the bag.

"So," he said, water droplets sliding down his nose. "You doing anything tomorrow? Maybe we could... I don't know, buy Goldie a proper tank?"

And just like that, the most embarrassing moment of my life became the best one. Sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways — or maybe it just sends cats to ruin everything and cute boys to save the day.