Goldfish Operations

Maya pressed her back against the side of the house, heart pounding like she'd been *running* a marathon instead of just crouch-walking across Mrs. Henderson's prize-winning hydrangeas. This was it. Operation: Don't Be Weird.

She adjusted her phone, angled perfectly like a pro *spy* setup. Through the screen, she could see everything happening at Chen's pool party—the popular kids clustered around the actual *pool*, music blasting, someone doing a cannonball that sent water everywhere. Maya should've been there. She WAS technically invited. But showing up alone? Without backup? That was level 99 difficulty.

"Maya?" a voice whispered behind her.

She nearly dropped her phone into the marigolds. Spinning around, she found Leo—aka, her lab partner, aka the only person at school who might possibly be more awkward than herself.

"What are YOU doing?" she hissed.

He held up a plastic bag filled with water. Inside, a single orange *goldfish* swam in confused circles.

"Rescue mission," Leo whispered seriously. "Chen's little sister put him in a shot glass. I overheard them planning to—" he lowered his voice dramatically "—flush him."

Maya stared at him. Then at the party. Then back at the fish, whose expression seemed to say yeah, this is my life now.

"Okay," she said, "what's the plan?"

"We need to get him to the pond behind the community center."

"That's, like, two miles away."

"Hence the running."

Maya looked at her phone one last time—at the party she was too anxious to attend, the people she spent all year wishing would notice her. Then she looked at Leo, holding a plastic bag like it contained nuclear launch codes instead of a five-dollar fish.

"You know what," she said, straightening up, "let's do it."

They spent the next twenty minutes power-walking through suburban backyards, Leo updating the goldfish on his new pond life, Maya realizing she'd been literally *running* from the wrong thing all year.

They released him into the community center pond at sunset. The goldfish did one majestic circle, then disappeared into the deeper water like he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Wanna get ice cream?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Maya smiled. "Yeah, I do."

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. A text from Chen: "hey!! missed u at the party!! next time okay??"

Maya grinned. Maybe next time, she wouldn't need a rescue mission as an excuse.