Operation Goldfish Bowl

Maya crouched behind the massive potted fern in the corner of Tyler's rec room, feeling like the world's worst **spy**. Her first real high school party, and she'd already spent twenty minutes surveilling her crush from behind foliage. This was definitely not how the TikTok tutorials said fifteen-year-olds were supposed to live their best lives.

Lena, across the room, was dancing with that effortless confidence Maya had been trying to fake since seventh grade. Her curls bounced like she'd personally invented gravity. Maya touched her own **hair**—currently slicked down in what her mom called "sleek" but what Maya felt screamed "I forgot my social skills at home."

The_unbearable tension in her chest. That's what it was. Not **bear** like the animal, but bear like Tyler's older brother's weed references. Whatever. The point was, Maya was dying inside, and Lena was literally glowing under the LED strips.

The floor was crowded near the **water** fountain—because apparently rich people didn't just say "water dispenser." Maya had calculated exactly forty-seven seconds of eye contact with Lena tonight. Zero conversations. Approximately a billion awkward almost-smiles that turned into half-coughs halfway through.

"You've been hovering by that **goldfish** for twenty minutes," said someone behind her.

Maya jumped. It was Lena.

The fish in the bowl stared at her with what looked distinctly like judgment. Three-second memory, my ass, Maya thought. This fish knew she was a mess.

"I wasn't—I was just—"

"Spying on Tyler?" Lena grinned. "Same. He's literally talking about his golf handicap. I'd rather watch paint dry."

Maya's brain short-circuited. "You... what?"

"The spy thing? Yeah, I saw you behind the fern." Lena stepped closer, lowering her voice. "Your cover was blown approximately nineteen minutes ago. I was waiting to see if you'd make a move."

"On Tyler?"

"No, you idiot." Lena's eyes sparkled. "On me."

The goldfish swam away, probably done with their collective inability to function. Maya's hair was definitely not sleek anymore. Her face was burning.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Lena bit her lip. "So? You gonna say something, or should I go back to pretending to care about golf?"

Maya took a breath. "I hate golf too."

Lena laughed, and it was better than any TikTok audio. "Progress. You wanna get out of here? There's a 7-Eleven down the street."

"Yes."

"Cool." Lena offered her hand. "Come on, spy. Let's blow this joint."