Goldfish Protocol

The party was already mid-tier when Maya arrived, which was honestly a blessing. Less time to stand in the corner looking like a lost freshman at orientation week. She grabbed a red solo cup from the kitchen counter—water only, thanks, she wasn't trying to be that girl tonight—and drifted toward the back room where she'd heard people hanging out.

That's when she saw him: Liam, the Sphinx of sophomore year. The guy who sat at the back of AP Bio saying approximately three words per semester, yet somehow had half the varsity team following his Instagram like he was dropping wisdom instead of mirror selfies with his motorcycle. He was standing in front of a ten-gallon tank, staring at a single goldfish like it held the answers to the universe.

"That's Captain Fin," a voice said behind her. Maya nearly jumped out of her skin. It was Brianna, Liam's cousin and the only person who could actually get him to, like, exist in public settings. "My brother won him at a carnival last year. We're all just impressed he's not dead yet."

"Low bar," Maya said before she could stop herself, and Brianna laughed.

"Right? My dad—total bear about responsibilities, like, constantly giving us these whole lectures about how pets are family—keeps threatening to flush him if we forget to feed him for the third time."

Maya opened her mouth to respond but then the most cringe thing happened: she caught her reflection in the tank glass. There was a piece of spinach wedged firmly between her front teeth, visible from space, a glowing green monument to her earlier decision to eat salad before the party instead of after.

She considered faking a sudden illness. Instead she said, "I should probably—" and gestured vaguely toward the bathroom, but then Liam turned around.

"You like fish?" His voice was deeper than she expected, and okay, maybe the Sphinx thing was just social anxiety masking as mysterious coolness, which was kind of relatable, honestly.

Maya made an executive decision. She'd own it. The spinach. The awkwardness. All of it. "Actually, I was just admiring Captain Fin. He's got main character energy."

Liam's mouth twitched. The tiniest smile. "Yeah. He's my little dude. Got me through finals week."

Outside, lightning flashed through the sliding glass doors, illuminating his face in quick succession—first light, then shadow, then light again. Something about the moment felt electric in a way that had nothing to do with the storm brewing outside.

"Cool," Maya said, and she meant it. "Maybe sometime you can tell me his whole backstory. I feel like there's lore there."

"Yeah," Liam said, and the smile was real now. "I'd like that."

Later, when Maya finally excused herself to the bathroom and spent two full minutes extracting the spinach with her fingernail, she caught herself grinning at her reflection like a total dork. Sometimes the most embarrassing moments were also the ones that broke everything open. The goldfish would understand.