The Goldfish Incident

My palms were sweating so hard I could barely grip my phone. Three texts from Maya: *you coming??*, *pool party at jake's*, *PLLLEEAASSEEEE*. I'd been crushing on Jake since September, and now it was June. The perfect opportunity to ruin everything.

I showed up wearing this orange bikini I'd bought because Maya said it made me look confident, but I just felt like a traffic cone trying too hard. Everyone was already in the pool, laughing like they'd all been best friends since kindergarten. Jake was there—shirtless, holding a red plastic cup, and I almost walked right back to my car.

"Hey!" Maya materialized beside me, shoving a drink into my hand. "You made it! Oh my god, Jake keeps looking over here."

"He's probably wondering why the new girl is standing alone like a total loser," I muttered.

"You're not a loser, you're just... mysterious." Maya grinned. "Come meet everyone."

Somehow I ended up in a conversation about who had the most ridiculous childhood pets. This girl Sarah mentioned she'd had a goldfish that lived for seven years, which everyone agreed was basically immortal. Jake laughed, and I felt this stupid flutter in my chest. I could actually do this. I could bear five minutes of conversation without making a complete fool of myself.

Then it happened. Jake's little cousin came sprinting through with a plastic bag, tripped, and suddenly I was wearing a dead goldfish as a necklace. The whole party went silent.

Jake's eyes met mine. I wanted to evaporate. The absolute audacity of my life sometimes.

"That was legendary," Jake said, finally breaking the silence. "Seriously, I've never seen someone take a goldfish to the face with that much dignity."

I thought he was making fun of me—of course he was—but then he handed me a towel. "I'm Jake, by the way. Nice to officially meet you, Fish Girl."

"Har-har," I said, but I was smiling. "I'm... surprisingly okay with that nickname."

Maya gave me this look from across the pool like *I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD WORK*. And honestly? Maybe she did. Sometimes the worst moments are just plot twists in disguise.