The Goldfish in the Room

Maya stood against the wall at Alex's party, clutching her plastic cup like it was a lifeline. Around her, people danced and laughed and existed with an ease she couldn't fake. She felt like a zombie—one of those half-alive things that shuffles through movies, barely there, just going through the motions.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. An iPhone notification from her mom: "Having fun?" She typed back "Yeah!" before shoving it deeper into her dress. The truth was, she'd spent the last hour watching Alex's pet goldfish swim in tiny circles in its bowl on the counter. Poor guy had no idea he was stuck in the same four inches of water, and honestly? Same.

"Hey." A voice snapped her out of her goldfish-induced existential crisis. It was Jordan, the guy she'd been crushing on since September. He nodded toward the backyard. "Wanna escape?"

They ended up sitting on the edge of the empty pool, knees barely touching. The night air was cool, and somewhere distant, music thumped like a slowed heartbeat.

"I feel like I'm constantly answering riddles I don't understand," Jordan said suddenly, looking up at the stars. "Like, what do you even say to someone when—"

"When what?"

"When you like them but you're terrified they'll think it's weird?"

Maya's breath caught. "Like a sphinx," she blurted. "You know, from mythology? It asks you a riddle, and if you get it wrong, you die. If you get it right, it destroys itself anyway. Either way, something ends."

Jordan stared at her. "That's dark."

"I'm in a weird mood tonight."

"Me too." He scooted closer. "Maybe we're both just trying to figure out the riddle."

Her phone buzzed again—another notification she ignored. The goldfish was still swimming in circles somewhere inside, and she was still Maya, awkward and anxious and feeling like she was missing something everyone else had figured out. But Jordan's hand found hers in the dark, and for the first time all night, she didn't feel like she was watching from the sidelines.

"The riddle's not that hard," he said softly.

"No?"

"No. It's just: are you gonna keep watching from the wall, or are you gonna dance?"

She squeezed his hand. "I think I'm done being a zombie."