Goldfish Memories

The spinach stuck in my braces was definitely not the vibe I was going for during my first hangout with Jordan. I'd spent forty minutes on my eyeliner and picked this outfit five times, only to spend the entire lunch date doing that tight-lipped smile people do when they're hiding something. Jordan probably thought I was being mysterious. Spoiler: I was just terrified a green leaf would launch itself from my teeth mid-conversation.

"So," Jordan said, pushing fries around their plate, "what's the deal with that keychain?"

They meant my cat keychain—the one my little sister won at a carnival and immediately discarded because it "didn't spark joy." I'd grabbed it from the junk drawer on my way out, thinking maybe having something to fidget with would calm my nerves. Now it was just dangling there like a fifth wheel.

"Oh, yeah. My sister's, actually," I said, twisting the cheap plastic ring around my finger. "She won, like, seven goldfish at different booths. My parents made her donate them to the school before we even left the parking lot."

Jordan laughed, and I felt something in my chest loosen. "That's honestly so chaotic. I respect the commitment."

The conversation actually flowed after that. We talked about our weird families, about how we both hated that one TikTok sound that played everywhere, about how Jordan's grandma still had a landline and answered it like it was 1997. I forgot about the spinach crisis. I stopped overanalyzing every micro-expression.

When Jordan's mom picked them up, they lingered by the car door for a second. "This was... actually not awkward," they said, like that was a massive compliment coming from a sixteen-year-old.

"Right?" I said, feeling brave enough to smile for real. "We should do it again."

"Yeah," Jordan said, grinning. "Next time, maybe somewhere without salad."

I froze.

"Kidding," they said, and then they were gone.

I pulled out my phone to find three texts from my sister: did u ask them about their cat yet and ur welcome for the keychain and MOM SAYS UR DOING DISHES

nI stood there for a minute, feeling lighter than I had all day. The spinach situation might've been a disaster, but somehow, I'd still managed to not completely tank it. Growing up was basically just one long series of embarrassing moments you survived anyway.