Operation Goldfish

I felt like a total creep, sitting in my car across from Jake's house, but what else could I do? My best friend Maya had texted me with those four dreaded words: "He's with HER."

Now here I was, basically acting like a spy, except instead of stealing state secrets, I was trying to confirm whether the guy I'd been flirting with for weeks was actually flirting with half the cheerleading squad. My life had reached a new low.

My cat, Mr. Whiskers, let out a pathetic yowl from the passenger seat. I'd only brought him because my mom was having people over and "didn't want the cat shedding everywhere." So now I was a seventeen-year-old undercover investigator with a feline accomplice.

"Dude, you're not helping," I told him, adjusting my beanie like it was some kind of tactical spy gear.

Jake's front door opened. I held my breath. But instead of Jake, some little kid came out carrying a plastic bag. He walked to the curb and set something down on the pavement.

I squinted. Was that... a goldfish bowl? The kid raced back inside, and the orange fish just sat there, completely betrayed, flopping around in probably three inches of water.

"You have got to be kidding me."

I looked at Mr. Whiskers. He looked at the goldfish with what I swear was predatory interest.

"Nope. Not today, satan."

I grabbed the bowl, marched up to Jake's door, and knocked like I was delivering bad news. Jake opened it, looking confused until he saw me holding the fish like it was a hostage situation.

"Your fish is on the curb," I said. "Also, are you dating Sarah from chem lab? Asking for a friend. Myself. I'm the friend."

Jake stared at me, then at the goldfish, then back at me. And then—because the universe has a twisted sense of humor—he started laughing.

"Sarah's my cousin," he said. "And thanks for saving Bubbles. My little brother's an idiot."

We ended up talking on his porch for two hours while Mr. Whiskers slept in my car and Bubbles the goldfish got upgraded to a proper tank. Sometimes the best operations aren't the ones you plan.