The Goldfish Incident

Maya stared at the ceiling, her phone balanced on her chest like a dead weight. Three notifications from Jason, zero from the group chat that had collectively ghosted her since the cafeteria incident last Tuesday.

"You good?" Her little brother Leo stood in her doorway, holding up a plastic bag. Inside, a single goldfish swam in lazy circles. "Mom says this is your replacement since Princess Bubblegum went to fish heaven."

"Leo, that's a feeder fish. It has a three-week lifespan."

"Exactly. Low commitment." He dropped the bag on her desk and disappeared before she could respond.

Her phone buzzed. Jason again. Some people were acting like total foxes—sneaky, waiting to see which way the social wind blew before picking sides. Not Jason though. He'd been solid even when the whole friend group had frozen her out over what basically amounted to Maya refusing to prank the new kid.

The doorbell rang.

"MAYA!" Her mom's voice cut through her wallowing. "Jason's here!"

She scrambled up, grabbing her phone off her chest. Found Jason standing on the porch holding a pizza box like it was a peace offering. Behind him, his giant golden retriever Bear sat patiently, tail thwacking against their porch railing.

"Brought reinforcements," Jason said, nodding at the dog. "And pepperoni. Also, my cousin finally fixed my wifi—something about the cable being messed up from the storm. So you can come over and stream that show you've been obsessing over."

Maya felt something in her chest unclench. "You didn't have to—"

"Bro, yes I did." He shifted the pizza box. "Besides, Bear refused to stay home. He's basically your emotional support animal now."

The dog chose that moment to lean his entire 85 pounds against Maya's legs, leaving golden fur all over her jeans. She laughed, surprised by how good it felt.

"Fine," she said, grabbing her sweatshirt. "But we're stopping for fish food first. I can't be responsible for another aquatic death."

"Deal." Jason grinned. "But we're taking the long way. I saw a fox behind the elementary school and I need you to witness my wildlife photography skills."

Maya grabbed her phone off the bed, checking the group chat one last time. Still nothing.

Whatever. She had pepperoni, a dog, and Jason. And a goldfish that probably needed a name better than "Replacement Fish."

"Coming," she called out, already feeling less alone.