The Goldfish Incident

My first week at Pet Paradise should've been chill. Just feeding fish, cleaning cages, vibing with the hamsters. Basic stuff. But no, I had to become the employee who almost murdered a goldfish during a school field trip.

I was 16, desperately trying to impress Jordan, the cute senior who worked the register. Jordan had this whole aesthetic—bright orange hair that looked like sunset, vintage band tees with sleeves cutoff at the shoulders, the kind of effortless cool that made me feel like a middle schooler wearing their older sibling's clothes and hoping nobody noticed.

"Watch this," I whispered to Jordan, showing off my fish-whispering skills to a group of seventh graders on a field trip. I reached into the goldfish tank to retrieve an escaped swimmer, feeling professional. Important. Capable. Like I actually knew what I was doing.

Then my bracelet snagged on the filter cable. The whole setup tipped toward me like something from a comedy movie, slow motion and inevitable. Water. Everywhere. One goldfish flopped onto the counter, gasping like it was judging my entire existence and finding me wanting.

"YO, did you just yeet that fish?" some kid yelled. The seventh graders absolutely lost it. Laughing, pointing, definitely filming for TikTok. I could feel my face burning hotter than the time I got caught scrolling through my crush's Instagram during assembly, my entire social life flashing before my eyes.

But Jordan? Jordan didn't laugh. Just helped me scoop up fish-guts mcgee back into the tank, hands brushing against mine in the chaos, our fingers tangling together for exactly three seconds before pulling apart. Later, during break, Jordan sat next to me on the back loading dock, our knees touching.

"That was pretty legendary," Jordan said, passing me a slice of pepperoni pizza from the delivery bag. "Also, you've had spinach in your teeth since lunch."

I groaned, covering my mouth with both hands. "And you didn't say anything? You let me walk around like that?"

"Honestly? It was kind of adorable." Jordan grinned, and I swear my heart did something embarrassing. "Like, in a 'I'm awkward too' way. It's charming."

We talked for forty-five minutes about everything and nothing—homework, music, how much we both hated math class, our favorite conspiracy theories. The goldfish incident, which should've been my most embarrassing moment ever, somehow became the start of something real.

Sometimes the worst days become the best stories. And sometimes, just sometimes, having spinach in your teeth while accidentally yeeting a fish in front of fifty seventh graders is exactly how you find your person.