Goldfish & Zombies at Sunset

Maya felt like a **zombie** standing by the snack table, phone burning a hole in her pocket. Her first high school house party, and she'd already spent twenty minutes doomscrolling on her **iPhone** instead of, you know, actually talking to people.

The sunset outside painted everything in **orange** light, making the kitchen feel like something from a dream. Or maybe that was just the stress dehydration talking.

"Hey."

She jumped, nearly dropping her phone. Lucas—**bull** of the sophomore football team, six-foot-one and unfairly cute—stood way too close. His eyes were actually kind, though. Not what she expected.

"You're in my bio class, right?"

"Yeah. Maya."

"Cool. I'm Lucas." He leaned against the counter, casual. "What're you hiding over there?"

"Nothing." She quickly turned off her screen. "Just... checking something."

"Cool, cool." He paused. "So, I heard you have a **goldfish** named Sharkbait."

Maya blinked. "How...?"

"Instagram." Lucas shrugged. "I've been following you. Your posts about him are lowkey hilarious. Like, the way you talk about his attitude problems? Iconic behavior."

Wait. THE Lucas had been following her? HER feed, where she posted unhinged rants about her fish's teenage rebellion phase?

"You think Sharkbait's attitude problems are interesting?" she asked, skeptical.

"Dude, absolutely." Lucas grinned. "Honestly? Respect the hustle. My fish just stares at me like I'm the problem. At least yours has personality."

Maya found herself smiling. Maybe parties weren't actually so terrible. Or maybe it was just the **orange** sunset making everything feel possible.

"Want to see his newest trick?" she asked, pulling out her phone. "He can high-five for pellets."

"Absolutely show me this," Lucas said, moving closer. "No cap, I need to witness this."

And for the first time all night, Maya didn't feel like a zombie at all. She felt like someone whose fish was about to make her the coolest person in the room.