Goldfish Tears at the Pool Party

Maya's stomach did backflips as she stood at the edge of Jake's pool, clutching her red Solo cup like a lifeline. This was it — the party of the summer, and she was finally invited. Her best friend Chen had spent two hours straightening her hair and hyping her up, but now Maya felt like she might actually throw up.

The late afternoon sun glinted off the water, turning the surface into liquid gold. Jake waved from the diving board, looking annoyingly perfect with his sun-bleached hair and that effortless smile that made girls forget their own names.

"Hey! You made it!" He swam over, droplets running down his chest. "I was hoping you'd come."

Maya's brain short-circuited. She'd been crushing on Jake since seventh period English, and now he was talking to her? At his party? This had to be some glitch in the simulation.

"Yeah, I..." Smooth, Maya. Real smooth.

Chen appeared behind her, practically vibrating with excitement. "Dude, Jake called you over! Go!"

"But what do I say?" Maya hissed back. "I'm terrified I'm going to say something weird and he's going to realize I'm actually a loser who spends Friday nights re-reading the same three manga series and-"

"You're overthinking again," Chen said, steering her toward the snack table. "Eat something. You always get hangry when you're nervous."

The spread was impressive: pizza rolls, chips, and a giant bowl of something green and leafy that looked suspiciously healthy. Maya's mom was always on her about eating more vegetables, so she grabbed a handful of the spinach-artichoke dip and crackers, trying to look casual and not like someone who had mentally rehearsed this conversation approximately forty-seven times.

She turned back to the pool just as Jake climbed out, water streaming down his abs. And then her brain chose that exact moment to notice something horrifying.

A massive piece of spinach was wedged between her front teeth.

She froze. This was it. This was how she died. Social death by vegetable.

"So," Jake said, walking toward her with that gorgeous, terrible smile. "I wanted to ask you something."

Maya's eyes darted around wildly. Chen was snapchatting by the drinks. The goldfish in the tank on the patio table stared at her with zero sympathy. Why was she like this? Why did the universe hate her?

"Maya?" Jake tilted his head. "You okay?"

She couldn't speak. She could only imagine how ridiculous she looked — spinach-toothed, panic-stricken, probably blushing so hard she looked like a human tomato.

Then Jake did the unexpected. He reached out, gently tapped his own front tooth, and said, "You've got a little something there, by the way."

Maya wanted to dissolve. Right there. Just become one with the pool deck.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, frantically picking at her teeth. "This is so embarrassing."

Jake laughed — not mean-laughed, but actually laughed, all crinkly-eyed and genuine. "Dude, no worries. Happened to me last week at lunch with mustard. Thought I was going to have to transfer schools."

Maya blinked. "Really?"

"You think I'm this smooth 24/7?" He gestured at himself. "I literally tripped over my own feet walking over here. I'm hoping you didn't notice."

"I didn't."

"See? We're good." He smiled again, softer this time. "So, about what I wanted to ask... there's this new aquarium place downtown? They have fox sharks? Thought maybe you'd want to go sometime."

"Fox sharks?"

"They're like sharks but smaller and kinda weirdly cute. Kind of like gigantic goldfish with attitude." He shrugged. "I know it's random but you mentioned liking marine bio in class that one time and..."

Maya's heart was doing something ridiculous. "I'd love to."

"Yeah?" His smile widened. "Cool. Cool cool cool."

Chen appeared beside her, somehow knowing everything without being told. "Well that went way better than expected, didn't it?"

Maya looked at Jake, who was back in the water but kept glancing over at her, and then at her own reflection in the glass door. The spinach was gone. The panic was fading. And somehow, despite everything, she was exactly where she wanted to be.