The Goldfish at the Top of the Pyramid

Maya's phone buzzed with another text from Chelsea. Pool party. Saturday. BRING IT.

She stared at her reflection. The orange bikini she'd bought on sale—partially because it was on sale, mostly because her mom said it made her skin glow—felt like a costume. Maya at parties was basically a goldfish in a bowl: swimming aimlessly, waiting for someone to tap the glass.

The social pyramid at Northwood High had clearly defined levels. At the top? Chelsea and her squad. Somewhere in the middle? Regular humans who knew how to talk to crushes without forgetting their own names. At the bottom? People who brought gummy vitamins to parties because they "needed an immune boost" before social interaction.

(Spoiler: that last one was Maya. She'd already eaten three.

"You got this," she whispered to herself. "You're not going to spend another summer watching everyone else live their best lives while you rewatch The Office for the seventh time."

The party was already popping when she arrived. Music thumped against the garage. Perfectly tanned people draped over pool chairs like magazine ads. Chelsea spotted her immediately.

"MAYA!" Chelsea's voice cut through everything. "Thank god you're here—someone already put a goldfish in the filter system and it's literally chaos."

"Wait, what?" Maya followed Chelsea toward the pool.

"Jason's little brother brought his pet. Nobody knows how it got in the filtration thing but now it's basically a rescue mission."

Three guys were awkwardly crowding around the pool filter as a tiny orange fish darted through the water. Someone had propped up a pool noodle into a makeshift pyramid—obviously not actually helpful, but the symbolism wasn't lost on Maya.

"Okay, I got this," she said, surprising herself. Maya had spent enough summers helping her grandma with her koi pond. She knew fish panic.

She waded in, slow and steady. The goldfish darted toward her hands. Everyone went quiet. Chelsea's perfect eyebrows shot up.

"You're literally whispering to a fish right now," Jason said.

"Fish respond to calm energy," Maya said, netting the goldfish in her hands and transferring it to a waiting bowl. "Also, Jason, your little brother's goldfish is actually a beta fish, and he's doing great now."

Chelsea stared at her. "That was... honestly kind of legendary?"

"Honestly?" Maya grinned, finally feeling the vitamins kick in—or maybe it was just confidence. "Fish are my people."

"Okay, fish girl," Chelsea laughed. "You're officially on guest list priority for everything. Also, that orange bikini? It's giving."