Goldfish Protocol

Maya's little brother's goldfish—ironically named Captain Freedom—stared at her through the glass with those bug-eyed, judgmental looks. At least he didn't ask why she spent Friday night LinkedIn-stalking her crush like a total weirdo.

"You're basically a spy now," she told the fish, which swam away, unimpressed with her espionage career.

Her phone buzzed. Jake had posted something new. Maya's thumb hovered, ready to double-tap, then stopped. That was the problem with social media—it was all strategic, like some elaborate game where one wrong move could ruin everything. The cable guy had said something similar last week when he fixed their internet: "Everything's connected, kid. One loose wire, whole system goes down."

Maya wondered if she was the loose wire.

Thunder rattled her window. Through the glass, lightning cracked the sky open, illuminating her room in harsh flashes. She loved storms—they were dramatic and unapologetic, unlike her, who still hadn't worked up the nerve to actually talk to Jake at school.

Her mom yelled from downstairs: "Dinner! And yes, there's spinach!"

Maya groaned. Spinach. The enemy. But she dragged herself down anyway, because that's what you did when you were sixteen and your parents still technically controlled your food supply.

At dinner, her phone lit up on the table. Jake had commented on her story.

"Your fish is cute," it said. "I had one once. It died when I was seven. Traumatic experience."

Maya stared at the screen. She'd posted a photo of Captain Freedom an hour ago as a joke. She'd forgotten about it.

"Reply," her sister whispered, kicking her under the table.

Lightning flashed again, brighter this time. The power flickered.

"He commented on your fish story?" her mom asked. "That's...something."

Maya typed back: "His name is Captain Freedom. He's very wise."

Three dots appeared immediately.

"Solid name," Jake wrote. "Hey, I'm at Bryce's tomorrow. You should come over. We're ordering pizza. No spinach guaranteed."

Maya's heart did something illegal. Outside, thunder shook the house.

"I'll be there," she wrote, then added, "Spying on Captain Freedom's nemesis."

She didn't know what that meant. But Jake replied with a laughing emoji.

Later, back in her room, Maya fed Captain Freedom an extra pinch of flakes. "You're okay," she told him. "For a loose wire."