Operation Goldfish

Lila's blue hair—fresh from the box dye—felt like armor. Third time this semester. Her mom would definitely notice before dinner.

"You're literally going to bleach your hair off," Maya said, not looking up from her phone. They were sitting behind the padel courts, watching the new guy destroy everyone. The school called him Fox because of that rust-colored hair and how he moved—fast, unpredictable, kind of scary good.

Lila had been spying on him for three weeks. Not in a creepy way. Okay, maybe a little creepy. But she needed to know if the rumors were true.

"I'm not spying," Lila lied. "I'm conducting research."

"You're lurking behind a padel court with binoculars. That's literally the definition of spying." Maya finally looked up. "Also, your hair is bleeding onto your hoodie. Again."

Lila wiped her neck. Blue streak. "Whatever. Fox's sister was in my bio class last year. She said something about him being a—you know." She lowered her voice. "A different species."

"A different species." Maya's deadpan could strip paint. "Like, an alien? Or a cryptid? Please tell me he's a cryptid."

"That's not the point!" Lila's face burned. "The point is, nobody knows anything about him. He just appeared this year and started dominating at every sport and nobody knows where he came from or why he's always wearing long sleeves even when it's ninety degrees—"

"Maybe he has tattoos. Maybe he has scars. Maybe he's just vibing, Lila."

The ball hit the chain link fence inches from Lila's face. She jumped, binoculars flying.

Fox stood on the other side, racquet resting on his shoulder. Rust hair, gold eyes that were definitely too sharp, wearing a long-sleeved shirt in June heat.

"You're loud," he said.

Lila's mouth opened. Nothing came out.

"Also," he continued, "you've been watching me for twenty-one days. I have perfect attendance, so I know you've been skipping third period to lurk behind the padel courts." His eyes flicked to her hair. "Nice blue. Fourth time this year?"

"How did you—"

"I remember everything." A strange smile, not quite human. "Everything. But the fish thing? Seriously?"

"What fish thing—" Lila started, then stopped. Her goldfish had died three weeks ago. The day Fox transferred in.

"Okay," Maya said, standing up slowly. "This is getting weird and I'm leaving."

"Wait," Lila called, but Maya was already power-walking away.

Fox's grin widened, showing teeth that were slightly too sharp. "Your goldfish didn't die, by the way. I upgraded him. He's living in the creek behind the gym now. Much better quality of life."

"You what—"

"And the spying?" He stepped closer to the fence. "I'm flattered, really. But you should probably ask directly next time instead of lurking. Also, third period is AP Bio. You're missing the evolution lecture."

"You're in AP Bio?"

"I'm in all your classes." He winked—actually winked, with too many eyelashes. "See you tomorrow."

He walked away, and Lila stood there, hand pressed to her blue hair, heart hammering, wondering if she'd just lost her mind or found the most interesting thing that had ever happened to her.

Her phone buzzed. Unknown number: *Your goldfish says hi.*

Lila stared at the screen, then at the empty padel court, then at the space where Fox had disappeared.

"What," she said out loud, "the actual—"

Something splashed in the creek behind her. Lila turned slowly.

A goldfish—her goldfish, definitely, same stupid orange spot on its tail—swam to the surface, blew a bubble that looked suspiciously like a tiny crown, and disappeared.

Lila's phone buzzed again. *You're welcome. Also, nice hair.*

Okay, Lila thought. Maybe AP Bio wasn't going to be so boring after all.