The Goldfish Conspiracy

Maya hovered at the edge of the **pool**, clutching her red solo cup like it was a lifeline. Jordan's end-of-school bash was exactly what she dreaded — people she barely knew, slow jams, and that specific kind of teenage awkwardness where everyone was pretending to be cooler than they actually were.

"You're blocking the cannonball area," someone said behind her.

Maya turned and saw Riley — the new girl from English class who always sat in the back, wearing oversized hoodies and writing in a notebook she aggressively closed whenever anyone walked by. Tonight she was in a black one-piece, arms crossed, watching everything like she was gathering intel for a mission.

"I wasn't aware cannonballs were scheduled," Maya said dryly.

"They're always scheduled." Riley pulled a bag of **goldfish** from her pocket and offered some. "Want? You look like you need to carb-load for the social interaction you're avoiding."

Maya laughed, surprised. "Is it that obvious?"

"You're practically vibrating with anxiety." Riley ate a handful of crackers. "I'm Riley, by the way. Professional wallflower."

"Maya. Amateur wallflower."

They stood there for a minute, watching Jordan's popular friends dominate the shallow end. Then Riley nudged her. "Wanna know why I came?"

"To witness the legendary cannonball competition?"

"No." She lowered her voice. "Because Jackson's brother is supposed to be here. He's a sophomore in college, and apparently he's a total **fox**."

Maya stared at her. "Did you just say 'fox'? Who says that?"

"My grandma, okay? She's working on her slang game." Riley cracked a smile. "But I need to confirm or deny this rumor, and I need a witness."

"I'm your witness?"

"You're my witness. So, are we investigating or what?"

They spent the next hour drifting through the party like detectives, mock-serious and actually having fun. They didn't find Jackson's brother, but they did discover that Jordan couldn't swim, that the 'spiked' punch was literally just fruit punch, and that two awkward observers could become friends in under sixty minutes.

Later, floating on pool noodles as the party wound down, Riley said, "You know what's messed up? We were both so scared of this thing, but it wasn't even that deep."

"Literally," Maya said, gesturing at the shallow end.

Riley snorted, spraying goldfish crumbs. "You're not allowed at my investigation parties anymore."

"Deal," Maya said, and for the first time all night, she wasn't thinking about leaving.