The Goldfish Pyramid Scheme

Maya's phone was at 3%. Should've brought the charging cable, but she was too busy hyperventilating about whether her outfit was giving 'I'm trying too hard' vibes.

The basement party was exactly what she'd feared: a social pyramid with the seniors on top, juniors in the middle, and everyone else desperately climbing toward relevance. Maya had wedged herself into a corner behind a sofa, which was how she'd ended up staring into the eyes of a solitary orange goldfish in a bowl on a side table.

"At least you don't have to worry about being awkward," she whispered. The fish blinked at her. "Wait, do fish even blink?"

Then Liam from AP Chem appeared. Cute Liam. The Liam she'd had a crush on since August.

"Hiding?" he asked, sliding down the wall to sit beside her. The scent of his cologne was doing things to her nervous system that felt like lightning.

"Observing," Maya corrected, because 'hiding' felt too vulnerable. "From a tactical vantage point."

He laughed, and it was better than she'd imagined. "Cool. I'm conducting important research on this goldfish. His name is Steve. He's the only real one here."

Outside, thunder rattled the basement windows. The party noise level had dropped — people were gathering by the back door, phones out, recording the storm.

"Wanna see something?" Liam stood up, reaching for her hand. His palm was sweaty, but so was hers, so it felt okay.

He led her through the sliding glass doors onto the patio. Rain was coming down in sheets, turning the backyard into a glowing wonderland from the outdoor string lights. puddles reflected amber light like liquid gold.

"Watch," he said, pointing at the pool.

A flash of lightning split the sky, turning everything white-hot for a second. In that moment, the pool water illuminated from below — someone had put those LED lights in it, and they were cycling through colors. It looked like magic.

"My sister put those in for her birthday last week," Liam said. "Weird, right?"

"Weird beautiful," Maya said, then immediately wanted to dissolve into the ground. But Liam was smiling at her, really smiling, not the polite half-smile he gave everyone.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Hey, Maya?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you came tonight. Even if you were hiding behind the sofa."

"Tactical vantage point," she corrected, and he laughed again, pulling her slightly closer as the rain poured down around them. Her phone was definitely dead by now. She didn't care.