Operation Goldfish

I positioned myself behind the library shelves, phone camera ready. This wasn't creepy—this was reconnaissance. Call it what you want, but I prefer "intelligence gathering." Mia had been sitting alone with her sketchbook for twenty minutes, and my friend group's consensus was clear: someone had to find out what she was drawing. That's where I came in, designated spy by unanimous vote.

My phone buzzed. Sasha: "Any updates? Report back, soldier."

I rolled my eyes. Then I heard it—a familiar jingle of tags. Mr. Whiskers. My neighbor's cat, who apparently considered the entire apartment complex his territory. He darted between my legs and I faceplanted into full view of Mia's table.

She looked up. Saw me. Saw the cat winding around my ankles like he owned me.

"Spying?" she asked, deadpan.

"I was... uh..."

Mr. Whiskers decided this was the perfect moment to jump onto the table and bat at her pencil.

"Get down, you little—" I started, but Mia was already laughing. Not mean laughing. Actual laughing.

"He's fine," she said, scratching behind the cat's ears. "Better company than most people."

I sat down, partly because my dignity was already dead and partly because she seemed okay with it. That's when I noticed her sketchbook—page after page of fish. Not normal fish. Glowing, almost celestial.

"Are those...?"

"Goldfish," she said, turning the page. "I have like six of them. They're underrated. Everyone thinks they're basic, but have you ever actually watched one? They're basically telepathic."

I thought about telling her that was definitely not true, but something stopped me. Maybe it was the way her eyes lit up. Maybe it was Mr. Whiskers now aggressively purring in my lap like we'd been friends for years.

"Show me the telepathy," I said.

Mia grinned. "Come over after school. I'll prove it."

I walked home with cat fur on my sweatshirt and Mia's number in my phone. Sasha's thirteen unread messages could wait. Some operations succeed beyond the original mission parameters. That's what I told myself anyway.