Goldfish Operations

The mission was supposed to be simple: tail Marcus without him noticing. My spy game had been weak all semester—basically non-existent compared to Lia's legendary stalking skills on Insta. But this was different. This was real life.

Marcus sat three rows ahead in homeroom, wearing that orange hoodie he refused to wash because 'it's lucky, bro.' I'd been documenting his movements for weeks in a mental spreadsheet. Turned right at the water fountain. Checked his phone twice during announcements. Smiled when Mr. Harrison's terrible puns landed.

'You're being weird,' Lia said, sliding into the desk beside me. She knew everything—my crush, my stalking habit, my increasingly concerning inability to act normal around humans.

'I'm not being weird. I'm conducting an investigation.' I gestured toward Marcus. 'Subject is currently engaging in suspicious behavior.'

'Suspicious behavior like existing?' Lia raised an eyebrow. 'Chill, okay. You're gonna end up on his weirdo radar if you keep staring like you're trying to telepathically explode his head.'

The problem wasn't just the crush. It was the friendship thing with me and Layla, who'd been my best friend since seventh grade until she decided reinventing herself meant leaving everyone behind. Now she sat with the popular crowd, laughing too loud at jokes that weren't funny, wearing colors that weren't hers.

That Friday, Marcus actually talked to me. I was at the pet store, staring at a goldfish that looked vaguely depressed.

'You gonna buy him or just psychologically damage him from outside the tank?'

I spun around. Orange hoodie. Up close. This was it. This was the moment my spy work had prepared me for.

'I'm assessing his emotional state,' I said, because apparently my brain had short-circuited. 'He seems... contemplative.'

Marcus laughed. 'That's a fish, not a philosopher.' He paused. 'You're in my homeroom, right? You always look like you're calculating exactly how many seconds until the bell rings.'

My face burned. 'I'm observant.'

' observant. I like that.' He leaned against the tank. 'I'm Marcus.'

'I know.' Then, because my life was a disaster: 'I mean, I don't know. I mean—'

'You're chill,' he said, like he'd decided something. 'Wanna get food after school? There's this place with amazing orange chicken.'

Lia was gonna lose her mind. Layla was gonna lose her mind. I was losing my mind.

The goldfish swam lazily to the other side of the tank, apparently done with my drama. 'Sure,' I said. 'I mean, yeah. Totally.'