The Goldfish in the Pool

Maya's brain felt like a complete zombie after staying up until 3 AM scrolling through Jordan's Instagram—again. The pool party at Tyler's house was basically social suicide territory for someone whose biggest flex this summer was mastering elaborate eye makeup tutorials.

"You good?" Marcus asked, sliding up beside her with two sodas. Her best friend since sixth grade, the only person who knew about her entire Jordan obsession.

"Totally fine," Maya lied, adjusting her oversized shirt over her bikini. "Just vibing."

The backyard was chaos—people doing cannonballs, music bumping, Tyler's younger sister trying to convince everyone her goldfish could do tricks. Maya texted Jordan last night: *hey! gonna be at Tyler's party 2day if u wanna hang* and left him on read for twelve hours.

CRINGE level: maximum.

"Zones out much?" Marcus nudged her. "Tyler's doing a chicken fight tournament if you want in."

Before Maya could answer, a collective gasp rippled across the pool. Tyler's sister stood by the edge, holding the goldfish bowl upside down.

"Bubbles!" she shrieked.

Maya's body moved before her brain could process. She was already running, shoving past people, jumping fully clothed into the water. The water hit her like cold reality. Something orange flickered near the bottom—Bubbles, swimming confusedly through the chaos.

She cupped the tiny fish in both hands and burst to the surface, sputtering.

"Got him!"

Someone pulled her up. Tyler's hand. Then another hand. Jordan's.

Maya stood there dripping, holding a goldfish, while the entire party watched. Jordan's hair was wet, his shirt see-through. He grinned at her.

"That was actually kind of epic."

Marcus face-palmed from the edge. "You're literally the main character now."

Maya looked between Jordan, her best friend losing it, and the goldfish in her hands. Something about the absurdity of it all—the zombie-level exhaustion, the potential social disaster, the fact that she was now *that* person who jumped into a pool for a fish—suddenly felt hilarious.

"So," she said, squeezing water out of her hair, "who wants to help me put Bubbles back?"