Goldfish Whisperer

The fluorescent lights of Pet Paradise buzzed like my overcaffeinated brain. I'd been running on zombie mode since finals week started—three hours of sleep, energy drinks for breakfast, and still somehow expected to function like a normal human being.

"Dude, you look dead," Marcus said, leaning against the fish tank display. He worked here too, which was honestly the only reason I hadn't quit yet.

"Thanks, appreciate the feedback." I gestured to the goldfish tank. "Mrs. Chen wants these moved to the front window. Something about 'attracting customers with their calming energy.'"

Marcus snorted. "You mean the ones that keep dying? That's calming, alright. Like, RIP level calming."

He wasn't wrong. We'd lost three goldfish this month alone. But today, staring at the remaining orange ones swimming in endless circles, something clicked. They weren't just failing at being alive—they were stuck.

Just like me.

I'd been crushing on Sophia since September, and my entire strategy involved staring at her from across the cafeteria while pretending to be incredibly interested in my phone. Classic coward behavior. The bullying from Jason's crew didn't help. They'd been calling me "Fish Boy" since they caught me talking to the betta fish during my break last month.

"That's total bull," Marcus said, reading my mind. "You should just talk to her."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one whose brain completely short-circuits every time she walks by."

Then Sophia actually walked in. The store's door chimed, and there she was—black hoodie, headphones around her neck, looking like she'd also been surviving on minimum sleep and maximum stress.

"Hey," she said, stopping at the goldfish tank. "These guys okay? They've been in the same spot for like, ever."

My brain: 404 Error Not Found.

"They're... thoughtful?" I managed. Smooth.

Sophia laughed. Actually laughed. "Thoughtful fish. I dig it." She pulled her headphones down. "I'm Sophia, by the way. We have English together."

"Leo. I know." I paused. "I mean, I sit two rows behind you. Not in a creepy way. Just... observant ways."

"Ways," she repeated, grinning. "I see you. You're always writing in that notebook. What's it about?"

The truth? I wrote about everything. How the goldfish deserved better than this glass prison. How Jason could go jump in a lake. How her laugh sounded like something I wanted to hear every day.

"Life," I said instead. "Just... life stuff."

"Cool." She tapped the glass. "You know, these goldfish are kinda like us. Swimming around in circles, not really going anywhere, but making it work anyway."

"Exactly like us," I agreed, feeling something shift inside my chest.

"Well, not exactly like us," Sophia said, pulling out her phone. "We can actually leave the tank. Want to grab boba after your shift?"

Marcus, who'd been dramatically pretending to organize cat food, gave me a thumbs-up.

"Yeah," I said, feeling properly alive for the first time in days. "Yeah, I'd love that."

The goldfish kept swimming in circles, but somehow, that didn't seem so bad anymore. Some circles are worth repeating. Especially if they lead to boba with Sophia every Friday.