The Goldfish Signal

Maya's hands shook as she adjusted the beanie she'd stolen from her brother's closet — a black knit **hat** that covered her curls and maybe, just maybe, made her look effortlessly chill instead of like she was about to throw up.

"You got this," Jordan said from their spot on Maya's bed, where they'd been binge-watching whatever was **cable**-worthy on streaming services for three hours. "Leo's not gonna bite. He's literally the nicest person at school."

"Easy for you to say," Maya muttered. "You're not the one who's been lowkey obsessed with him since September."

Jordan grinned. "You should've seen yourself when you **friend**-requested him on Instagram. I thought you were gonna pass out."

Maya threw a pillow at them. Her phone buzzed — Leo was outside.

The walk to the park felt simultaneously too long and not nearly long enough. When she spotted him, her stomach did that thing where it forgot how to be an organ. Leo was sitting on a bench with his **goldfish** — a legitimate, floating-orange fish in a plastic bag.

"Hey," he said, standing up. The fish bobbed. "Thanks for coming."

"Is that... a fish?" Maya asked, because apparently her brain had stopped processing social cues entirely.

"Yeah. His name is Fernando. My mom said I couldn't keep him, so I was gonna release him in the creek, but then I remembered you mentioned you had that empty tank from your birthday party last year."

Maya blinked. He'd remembered something she'd mentioned months ago?

"I can definitely take Fernando," she said, and somehow the nervousness had evaporated into something lighter, something like possibility.

Then a **dog** came barreling out of nowhere — a golden retriever with zero chill and maximum enthusiasm, chasing a squirrel directly into Maya's legs. She stumbled forward, and Leo caught her arm. For a second, everything was warm and awkward and perfect all at once.

"Sorry about Buster!" an older lady called from across the grass.

They were still standing close. Leo's hand lingered on her arm.

"So," he said, "you still want Fernando?"

"Yeah," Maya said, her voice steady. "And maybe... you want to come meet him sometime? Like, properly?"

Leo's smile was everything she'd imagined and more. "I'd like that."

As they walked back, Jordan's text lit up her screen: well???????? Maya grinned at her phone. The hat, the nerves, the fish — none of it mattered anymore. Whatever this was, whatever it was becoming, she was ready.