Goldfish Memories Don't Last

Maya stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, running fingers through hair that was now an unfortunate shade of electric blue. "This is fine," she whispered, lying through her teeth. The DIY dye job had seemed like a solid idea at 2 AM when she'd been doomscrolling TikTok for the hundredth time.

Her phone buzzed. Group chat blowing up about Jessica's party tonight—the same Jessica who'd been ghosting Maya's texts for two weeks. Classic. Maya felt like a walking zombie, running on three hours of sleep and an unhealthy amount of caffeine. Junior year was absolutely wrecking her.

"Maya! Your goldfish is floating again!" Her little brother Leo's voice echoed through the house.

Goldie had been doing this for three weeks. The fish was fine, just dramatic. But Maya trudged downstairs anyway, checking her phone. Another notification: Jessica had posted the party on her story. Everyone was going. Everyone except the people Jessica had suddenly decided were "canceling the vibe" this week.

Maya peered into the fishbowl. Goldie did a lazy flip, very much alive. "He's fine, Leo. Stop trying to fish-sit him."

"You're just grumpy because you're not invited to the party," Leo sang.

"Bull," Maya shot back. "I'd rather literally die than hang out with fake people who only like me when it's convenient."

But by 8 PM, FOMO was absolutely winning. Maya found herself standing outside Jessica's house, blue hair hidden under a beanie, heart pounding like crazy. Through the window, she could see everyone—her friends, or former friends, or whatever they were now—laughing, living their best lives.

Then she saw it: Jessica pointing at Maya's Instagram post from yesterday, making that face. Everyone laughed. Maya's stomach dropped. That's what they did when she wasn't around?

Something in her shifted. Like, why was she trying to get invited to places where she clearly wasn't respected? That was actually cringe behavior.

Maya pulled off her beanie, letting her blue hair catch the streetlamp glow. Whatever. This was HER vibe, and if they couldn't handle it, that was on them.

She turned around and walked home, texting Leo: "We're watching movies tonight. Your pick."

Goldie did a celebratory flip when she walked into her room. Maya laughed, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. Some friends were like goldfish—pretty to look at, but they'd forget you existed in three seconds anyway. She was done chasing them.