The Vitamin Water Incident

The fluorescent lights buzzed above me as I stood behind the concession stand counter, watching the baseball team practice through the chain-link fence. Jake Martinez was at bat, his swing smooth and confident, totally unaware that I was about to ruin my entire summer existence in approximately three minutes.

"Hey, can I get a vitamin water?" The voice belonged to Chloe, who I'd had a crush on since seventh grade, and who now stood on the other side of the counter wearing a bikini that made my brain short-circuit.

"Yeah, totally." My voice cracked. Smooth, Marcus. Really smooth.

I turned to grab the vitamin-enhanced water from the cooler, but my foot caught on something underneath the counter—specifically, the goldfish bowl I'd been responsible for watching while my coworker Emma was on break. The bowl tipped, water splashed everywhere, and suddenly there was a fish flopping on the floor.

"Your goldfish is making a break for it," Chloe said, trying not to laugh.

Before I could process the absurdity of the situation, the snack stand door burst open and a golden retriever—probably from the park next door—bounded in, tail wagging, spotted the fish, and decided this was clearly the best day ever.

"No! Wait!" I lunged for the dog, slipped in the puddle of fish water, and went down hard, taking a display of chips with me.

The entire baseball team had stopped practicing to watch the show. Jake Martinez was doubled over laughing. Chloe was laughing too, but not mean-laughing—she was helping me up, her hand warm on my arm.

"That was literally the most chaotic thing I've ever seen," she said, still grinning. "You okay?"

"Never been better," I lied, fish water dripping from my hair. The goldfish had been rescued by the dog's owner (who'd come running in after him), Emma had returned from break and was dying, and I had somehow managed to become the most interesting person at the pool.

"So," Chloe said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You think after your shift, you want to hang out? Maybe somewhere without fish or dogs?"

Sometimes the most embarrassing moments become the best origin stories. And that's how I learned that sometimes total disasters are just opportunities in disguise. Also: goldfish bowls have no place near anything you care about.