The Goldfish in My Pocket

The plastic bag bumped against my thigh as I power-walked away from the carnival booth, heart still doing that weird fluttery thing. Inside, a tiny orange goldfish swam in circles, completely unaware that it had just been won by possibly the most uncoordinated person at Spring Fling.

"Dude, you actually won something?" Maya's voice cracked through my iPhone's speaker, her disbelief matching my own. "I've been trying to get you to play padel with us for weeks, and you randomly show up with a fish?"

I shifted the bag to my other hand, checking my reflection in the darkened phone screen. Hair still a mess from running across the quad to catch Jordan before they left. Too late, obviously. The ghost of our almost-conversation hung in my throat like unspoken words.

"It's not random," I protested, though it totally was. "The guy at the booth said this fish is, like, a sphinx of wisdom or something. Ancient Egyptian vibes. Very mystical."

Maya snorted. "You mean a carnival goldfish named after a riddle-spouting lion statue? Very deep, Skylar."

I stopped walking and watched the fish swim its endless circles. It had no idea it was trapped in a bag with someone who couldn't even ask their crush to join them for padel tomorrow. Someone who literally ran away from confrontation like a coward.

The notification lit up my screen. Jordan had posted a story – them and some friends laughing, maybe from after they left. Maybe looking for me.

My thumb hovered. Three seconds of courage. That's what it would take.

"I'm going back," I said suddenly. "To ask Jordan. To the padel thing tomorrow."

"FINALLY." Maya's cheer echoed through the phone. "About time you stopped running from everything."

The goldfish swam steadily forward in its bag, no idea it was now my emotional support animal for potentially the most terrifying conversation of my life. Small wins, I guess. "Wish me luck."

"You won a fish, Skylar. You're basically unstoppable now."