Goldfish Memorial

The bass thrummed through the floorboards of Jake's house, vibrating up Maya's legs like a warning she should've heeded. Her first real party. Her first chance to finally not be That Quiet Girl who sat in the back of algebra drawing in her notebook.

"Go, bear cub," her brother Tyler had said, using that nickname she hated, pushing her toward the sliding glass door. "You got this."

Maya didn't got this. What she got was a solo cup of suspiciously red punch and a corner near the massive mounted **bear** head above the fireplace—dead glass eyes watching her fail socially.

Everyone moved through the crowded living room like actual **zombie**s, phones glowing blue against their faces, thumbs scrolling like their lives depended on it. Finals week had destroyed them all. Maya stood alone, clutching her cup, calculating how many minutes she needed to stay before she could dip without looking pathetic.

Then she saw it. The fishbowl on a side table, water murky, one sad **goldfish** floating sideways at the top.

"Yeah, he's been like that since Tuesday," a voice said beside her. Jake, the host, looking exhausted in his Snap-back. "Keep meaning to flush him, but it feels weirdly personal, you know? Like, who am I to decide when it's time?"

Maya laughed before she could stop herself. Jake's eyebrows went up, and she felt herself flush.

"I'm Maya," she said. "Tyler's sister."

"I know who you are," Jake said. "You draw dragons on your homework. I sit behind you in English."

Her stomach did something embarrassing.

**Lightning** flashed through the windows, followed immediately by thunder that shook the whole house. The lights died. The music cut. Someone shrieked. In the sudden darkness, Maya felt fingers brush hers, warm and hesitant.

"Got a flashlight app," Jake said, and when his screen lit up his face, he was smiling at her like she was the only person in the room. "Wanna help me give Goldie a proper burial? I've been putting it off all week."

They flushed the fish together in the downstairs bathroom while everyone else freaked out about the power outage. Later, they sat on the back porch in the rain-streaked dark, sharing lukewarm pizza and stories about their weirdest teachers. Maya's phone stayed in her pocket.

She didn't become the most popular girl at school. But on Monday, when she walked into English, Jake scooted his desk over and said, "Save me a seat?" And for the first time, Maya didn't sit in the back. She sat front row, right next to the boy who noticed her dragons.