The Goldfish Effect

Maya's **goldfish**, Captain Bubbles, had a three-second memory. Sometimes she envied him. Especially now, while she sat in Tropical Paradise (the worst smoothie shop in town), sipping a papaya-mango disaster because her friends said it was "a vibe."

"Did you see who Kai followed on Instagram?" Zara whispered, dramatically lowering her voice like this was national security intel.

Maya resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She'd been **spy**-ing on Kai's socials since freshman year. That's what happened when your crush dated your ex-bestfriend's cousin's roommate. Small school, big problems.

"Chill, Zara. It's just a follow." But Maya's fingers were already twitching toward her **iPhone**, hidden under the table like contraband. She'd checked twenty minutes ago, but that was basically a lifetime in social media years. The algorithm didn't sleep, and neither did her anxiety.

"Just a follow?" Zara's eyes widened. "He liked her post from when she was at that party. THE party. The one where—"

"I know, I know." Maya cut her off. She did know. She'd been **running** through that night in her head for three weeks. The oversized shirt she'd worn. The way Kai had almost sat next to her but chose someone else at the last second. The papaya punch she'd spilled down her front because she'd been trying to look casual.

She couldn't escape it—literally. Kai had joined the track team, so now she saw him every day after school while she was supposed to be training for regionals. Instead, she spent her practice laps watching him through the chain-link fence like some certified stalker.

"You're doing it again," Zara said. "That face. The one where you look like you're solving cold cases instead of eating overpriced fruit."

Maya laughed despite herself. "I hate how well you know me."

"Then check already!" Zara practically shouted.

So Maya did. And there it was—Kai's latest story: a photo of Captain Bubbles' bowl, her neon gravel visible through the glass. Caption: "Someone left this at my house after the party. Text me?"

Her jaw dropped.

"Wait, YOUR fish is at HIS house?" Zara shrieked, drawing looks from neighboring tables.

Maya stared at her phone, processing. She'd left Captain Bubbles at that party. She'd been so mortified about the papaya incident and Kai's almost-sitting that she'd bolted without her fish. And he'd had him this whole time.

"He's been holding my fish hostage for three weeks," she whispered. "And I thought he didn't know I existed."

"That's not hostage," Zara corrected. "That's a plot twist."

Maya's fingers hovered over the screen. Three-second memory, her ass. Some things, she realized, didn't fade. Some things were worth remembering.

She typed: "Is he still alive? Also, I'm so sorry about the papaya."

The typing bubbles appeared immediately. Some stories, apparently, were just beginning.