Goldfish & The Mascot

Leo's mom was practically force-feeding him the gummy **vitamin** at the breakfast table.

"You need your immune support, mijo," she said, already in nurse mode.

"Mom, I'm fifteen, not five," Leo muttered, but he choked it down anyway. First day of his first real job, and he was already vibrating with that specific kind of anxiety that makes your palms sweat and your throat feel like you swallowed something wrong.

Because here was the thing: Leo's new job at FunZone Adventures required him to wear the **bear** costume. Not the cool bear. The rejected prototype bear with the derpy eye and the patchy fur that looked like it'd survived three different owners and a washing machine disaster.

His best friend Marcus had FaceTimed him that morning, already losing it. "Bro, you're literally gonna be the TikTok meme of the summer. Just own it."

Easy for Marcus to say. Marcus wasn't the one about to hand out **goldfish** in plastic bags to third graders while his own crush, Jasmine, was definitely gonna be there with her little sister for birthday parties.

The bear head smelled like regret and industrial disinfectant. Leo adjusted the **hat**—some weird cowboy addition the previous mascot had insisted on, management was too lazy to remove—and stepped onto the carpeted area near the prize booth.

Then he saw her.

Jasmine. At the goldfish station. Looking perfect in that way that made Leo's brain short-circuit.

He tried to wave. The bear paw got caught on the ticket dispenser. Two hundred neon tickets exploded everywhere.

"Nice moves, Bear Boy," she called out. Was she laughing at him or with him? The eternal question.

Leo knelt to gather the tickets, sweating through his undershirt. Jasmine crouched to help, and for a second, they were both there on the FunZone carpet, surrounded by redemption tickets and the distant sounds of arcade machines.

"My little sister wants one," she said, nodding at the goldfish. "But I feel bad giving a fish to someone who's definitely gonna overfeed it."

"My mom says I accidentally killed three before I learned," Leo said, before remembering he was in costume and supposed to be doing mascot voice stuff.

Jasmine laughed. Actual laugh. "What are you doing after your shift? Marcus said you guys are going to That Burger Place."

The bear head suddenly felt less suffocating.

"Yeah," Leo managed. "I mean, if Bear Boy can clock out early."

"Clock out early," she agreed. "And maybe leave the **hat** this time."

Leo spent the rest of his shift handing out goldfish like they were VIP passes. The vitamin-knot in his chest had finally unspooled. Sometimes the worst moments become the best stories. Sometimes you just have to be the bear in the room and own it.