The Goldfish in the Beanie

Maya's beanie was basically fused to her skull at this point. Junior year had her in a chokehold, and the hat was her armor against the world—or at least against the way Tyler's eyes kept sliding right past her in AP Bio.

"You good?" Jax asked, sliding into the cafeteria seat across from her. "You look like you're vibrating at a frequency only dogs can hear."

"I'm fine," Maya lied, like a pro. "Just thinking about how I have to give my presentation fourth period and my body might physically shut down."

She pulled a **vitamin** gummy from her pocket—her mom's latest attempt to fix her "deficiencies," which apparently included confidence and the ability to make casual conversation with crushes without sounding like a malfunctioning AI.

"You know what helps?" Jax said, completely serious. "Lean into the awkward. Like, fully commit."

Maya snorted. "Right, because what I need is MORE awkward energy in my life."

But then Tyler walked by, and instead of her usual strategy of staring intensely at her lunch tray, Maya actually spoke. "Hey, Tyler, nice—" and then she blanked. Her brain went full static.

"Nice what?" He stopped. Actually stopped.

"Nice... everything?" It came out as a question. Maya wanted to dissolve into the floor tiles. This was it. This was how she died.

Tyler grinned. "Thanks, Maya. You too."

Her stomach did something illegal. He knew her name.

Later, she found herself at the pet store with Jax, ostensibly to buy fish food for his sister's betta but mostly because she needed to process. She stared at a tank of **goldfish**—orange and white, swimming in endless circles, seven seconds of memory at a time.

"You know," she said, "maybe goldfish have it figured out. Just loop the same moment forever. Never remember the embarrassing stuff."

"Or maybe they're just vibing," Jax shrugged. "Living their best life in a ten-dollar tank."

Maya adjusted her **hat**, pulling it lower. She was still terrified for fourth period. Still overthinking everything. But Tyler knew her name. And maybe—just maybe—that was enough.

"Let's get the fish food," she said. "And maybe some of those gummy vitamins. I think I'm gonna need them."