The Goldfish Incident

Maya's hair had taken three hours to perfect that morning. The Dutch braids her YouTube tutorial promised would look effortless actually made her look like she'd tried way too hard, but it was picture day and Miles was finally going to notice her. Probably. Maybe.

Then came the goldfish incident.

She'd been explaining to her lab partner Jayden why she couldn't go to the spring formal—something about her mom's work schedule, which was a total lie—when someone's pet fish bowl got knocked over during lunch. Goldfish went everywhere, flopping dramatically on the cafeteria floor like tiny, orange, very concerned beachgoers.

"Someone grab the water!" someone screamed.

Maya grabbed the first container she saw and dumped it on the flopping fish, only realizing mid-pour that it was her mom's experimental green smoothie. The one with spinach. And something else that looked suspiciously like wheatgrass.

The goldfish stopped flopping. Everyone stared.

"Did you just smoothie a fish?" Jayden asked, sounding weirdly impressed.

"It's hydrated," Maya said weakly.

Then her hair began to slip out of its braids, frizzing in the cafeteria humidity like she'd stuck a fork in an electrical outlet. She could feel everyone watching. This was it. Her social life, officially over at sixteen. She'd be known as Spinach Smoothie Fish Murder Girl until graduation.

But then Miles walked over, picked up the now very confused goldfish, and dropped it into a nearby water bottle.

"That was iconic," he said, and for once he wasn't looking at her perfect-on-paper best friend Chloe. He was looking at Maya, with her half-lost braids and spinach-stained hands.

"Want to get boba after school?" Miles asked. "You can tell me about your smoothie recipe."

Later that night, Maya's cat jumped onto her bed and curled up like a grumpy little bear. Her hair was back in its usual messy bun, the goldfish had apparently made a full recovery, and she had a date for the formal.

Sometimes the most embarrassing moments became the best stories. Just not ones she'd be telling her mom.