The Zombie Goldfish Incident

Maya stood in the corner of Kyle's basement, nursing a warm orange soda and feeling like a total zombie. The house party was supposed to be The Event of the semester, but honestly? She was mostly just dissociating.

"You good?" Sarah appeared beside her, holding two red cups. "You look like you're in another dimension."

Maya shrugged. "Just socially dead. It's giving... a lot."

Sarah laughed. "Relatable fr. Come with me, I need to show you something iconic."

She dragged Maya upstairs to Kyle's older sister's room, where a small glass bowl sat on a desk. Inside, a single goldfish swam in endless circles.

"His name is Mr. Bubbles," Sarah whispered dramatically. "But honestly? He's living his best zombie fish life. Just swimming and vibing. No stress, no awkward convos with people who peaked in middle school."

Maya cracked up. "Wait, are we idolizing a fish now? Because honestly, same."

Sarah pulled an orange hair tie from her wrist. "I'm gonna free him."

"Sarah, NO—"

But Sarah was already tilting the bowl toward the open window. The goldfish flopped onto the fire escape, wriggling like it was ready to rage.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?"

"I liberated him!" Sarah grinned. "He's gonna explore the world! Live his truth!"

Maya stared at her friend, then at the goldfish, which was definitely not thriving on the concrete. "Sarah, that is not freedom. That is murder."

They spent the next twenty minutes frantically scooping the fish into a cup and sneaking him back to his bowl, both of them shaking with silent laughter as footsteps passed the door.

"We're the worst," Maya whispered, collapsing onto the bed.

"We're iconic," Sarah corrected, pulling out her phone to post a selfie with the 'rescued' fish. "Live, laugh, liberate goldfish, repeat."

Downstairs, the party thumped. But up there, something shifted. Maybe being a zombie wasn't about checking out. Maybe it was about finding your people, doing ridiculous things at 2 AM, and realizing that everyone else was just pretending to have it figured out too.

Mr. Bubbles swam in his bowl, blissfully unaware he'd almost had the worst night of his fish life. Maya took a sip of her orange soda and finally, actually, breathed.