The Goldfish Protocol

Alex stared into the fishbowl, watching Fin the goldfish do his usual three laps before forgetting he'd already been there.

"You think Jordan will notice if I literally say nothing all night?" Alex whispered to the orange fish. Fin just kept swimming, his tiny brain fully occupied by the important work of being alive.

Tonight was Jordan's party. The first party Alex had been invited to since starting at Northwood High. The one where everyone would be there, acting like they hadn't spent all week stress-posting on their finstas about how much they wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Alex's older sister Riley leaned against the doorframe, her golden retriever Buster trailing behind her like a fluffy, over-enthusiastic shadow.

"You're not going to full zombie mode on me again, are you?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow. "Last time you stayed up all night overthinking, you looked like the walking dead at school."

"I'm fine," Alex said, immediately proving he was not fine by his inability to make eye contact with anyone, including the dog.

Buster nudged Alex's hand with his wet nose, demanding attention like the good boy he was.

"Dude, even the dog knows you're spiraling," Riley pointed out. "Jordan invited you because you're actually cool, not because you need to perform. Just show up, say hey, and if it gets awkward, pretend you need to check on your—" She gestured at Fin. "—your emotional support fish."

Alex laughed despite themself. "Fin IS very supportive. He listens to all my problems and never interrupts."

"See? You've got this. Zombie brain or not."

Three hours later, Alex stood in Jordan's crowded basement, someone's playlist vibrating through the floorboards. They took a breath, remembered Fin's steady swimming, Riley's advice, and how Buster could make friends with literally everyone just by being himself.

"Hey," Alex said to the person next to them. "I'm Alex. My sister says I look like a zombie, but I promise I don't eat brains."

The person laughed. "I'm Sam. I literally haven't slept in two days, so we can be zombie together."

Sometimes, Alex thought, the goldfish wisdom was right: you just keep swimming, even when you forget where you're going.