Lightning in a Bowl

The thing about winning a goldfish at 2 AM after sneaking out to the county fair is that nobody warns you about the existential crisis that follows. There I was, Maya, freshly fifteen and sporting my first DIY orange hair dye job — more traffic cone than sunset vibes — holding a plastic bag containing a fish I'd named Kevin.

Kevin swam in frantic circles, probably questioning his life choices as much as I was. The orange hair had been a rebellion move, but standing there under flickering carnival lights, I didn't feel rebellious. I felt like a girl with citrus-stained hair and a fish supposedly blessed with a three-second memory. That sounded peaceful, honestly — especially since I'd just made excruciating eye contact with Jake from chemistry across the ring toss booth.

Then lightning cracked across the sky, actual purple-white lightning that turned the carnival into something from a dream, and Jake was suddenly beside me, holding his own goldfish bag.

"Nice hair," he said. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. "Kevin's got game."

"I mean, he won you a fish," I said, because my brain had officially short-circuited.

"No, I'm talking about your fish. She's been watching him."

My goldfish was indeed pressed against the plastic, trying to get a better view of Jake's fish.

The fairground emptied as the first raindrop hit. We took shelter under the food stand's awning, orange hair and goldfish and teenage awkwardness all pressed together while lightning kept splitting the sky open. Jake said he'd been meaning to ask if I wanted to study for the chem test together. I said that sounded terrible, honestly, but sure. He laughed, and our fish continued their surveillance from their plastic bags.

My hair faded back to brown eventually. But Kevin lasted three years, witnessing my first boyfriend, first breakup, first college acceptance. And Jake became the person I called when lightning storms rolled in, long after the goldfish were gone.

Some things, it turns out, have better memory than a goldfish. Some things stick.