Goldfish Promises

Maya's palms were sweating against the plastic red cup as she leaned against the kitchen island. The bass from the living room thumped through the floorboards, making the goldfish bowl on the counter ripple with tiny waves.

"You look like you're about to throw up," said Jace, sliding next to her with that easy grin that made half the sophomore class swoon. "First party nerves?"

"Something like that," Maya managed, though the truth was more complicated. She was bearing the weight of a text she'd sent earlier—*I like you*—to Jace's best friend, who hadn't responded in three hours.

The kitchen door swung open and Sarah stumbled in, followed by a cloud of fruity perfume and giggling. "Omg, Maya! You have to let me read your palm! I learned from this YouTube tutorial and I'm literally psychic now."

Before Maya could protest, Sarah had grabbed her hand and was tracing imaginary lines across her palm with dramatically serious eyes. "See this line? That's your love line, and it's all crooked which means you're gonna have drama. But like, the good kind."

Maya pulled her hand back, face hot. "You're just making this up."

"Am not!" Sarah insisted, then lowered her voice. "But for real, are you okay? You've been hiding in here all night."

Maya looked at the goldfish swimming lazy circles in its bowl, oblivious and peaceful. She wished she could float through life that easily, without the constant overthinking, without the desperate need to say the right thing or be the right version of herself.

"I just..." Maya started, then stopped. But Jace was still watching her with those soft brown eyes, and Sarah was waiting, and suddenly the words spilled out. "I texted Connor. Like, *I like you* texted him. And he hasn't said anything back and I feel like I'm gonna die."

The confession hung in the air for exactly three seconds before Sarah squealed and grabbed her into a bone-crushing hug. "You finally did it! We've been waiting literally forever for this!"

Maya blinked. "You knew?"

"Everyone knows," Jace said, sliding her phone across the counter. "And Connor just replied."

Her heart hammered as she read the screen: *Can we talk tomorrow? I've been trying to figure out how to tell you I like you too.*

"Well," Jace said, nudging her shoulder as Maya stared at the message like it might disappear. "Looks like your palm reading was right. Drama, but the good kind."

Maya finally smiled, the tight knot in her chest loosening. The goldfish swam another peaceful circle, and for the first time all night, she thought maybe high school wouldn't break her after all.