Goldfish Operations

I activated goldfish protocols: act casual, swim along, forget nothing. The mission was clear—determine whether Tyler actually liked my best friend Chloe or if he was just being, you know, Tyler.

He sat three rows ahead in third period, his dark hair always falling across his forehead when he laughed at his own jokes. I'd been "casually observing" him for two weeks now, which was definitely not creepy.

"You're spying again, aren't you?" Chloe whispered, sliding into the desk beside me. "Goldfish mode engaged."

"I prefer the term 'tactical intelligence gathering,'" I said, adjusting my glasses. "And for your information, Tyler keeps looking at someone in this general vicinity."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Or maybe he's looking at Sarah. Or literally anyone else who isn't us."

The cafeteria situation didn't help my cover. I'd somehow ended up with what appeared to be a forest of spinach wedged between my front teeth—discovered only after smiling at Tyler in the hallway. He'd done this weird half-smile thing back, but honestly, he could've been smirking at the vegetation situation.

That was when Jordan, the human embodiment of every middle school bully cliché, decided to grace our table with his presence.

"Nice salad, fish-face," he said, nodding at my teeth. "Did something die in there?"

Before I could even formulate a comeback—which would have been legendary, by the way—Chloe slammed her tray down.

"Original material, Jordan. Did you come up with that all by yourself, or did you need help?"

The entire cafeteria went quiet. Jordan's face turned that specific shade of bull-red that happens when the sky gets real big, real fast.

"Whatever," he muttered, retreating.

Chloe turned to me, eyes wide. "Oh my god, I can't believe I actually did that."

"You were amazing," I said, still processing. "Also, Tyler was totally watching that whole thing."

"He was?"

"Bro, I have it on good authority that he was definitely watching."

Later that night, my phone buzzed. An unknown number: hey this is tyler from chem. chloe was pretty badass today at lunch.

I screamed into my pillow.

Goldfish protocols: SUCCESS.