The Zoo Crew's Last Stand

Maya's phone buzzed with the group chat notification. It was from 'The Zoo Crew'—her, Jake, and Chloe. Their friend group name wasn't exactly original, but it stuck after freshman year when Jake's YouTube handle was 'BearGryllsWannabe,' Chloe went by 'FoxyLady' on everything, and Maya... well, she was stuck with 'GoldfishBrain' after forgetting her own locker combination three times in one week.

Now seniors, the dynamics had shifted. Jake had transformed from lanky theater kid to basketball captain, practically radiating main character energy. Chloe had traded her scene phase for TikTok aesthetic queen status. Maya was still figuring out her brand, which apparently included watching them both slowly drift away.

"Bear's having a party Saturday," Chloe texted. "You coming?"

Maya hesitated. Jake's parents were out of town, which meant the kind of party that ended with at least three people crying in the bathroom and someone throwing up in the bushes. Still, it was their last semester. If she didn't go, she'd officially become the friend who peaked in tenth grade.

"Sure," Maya typed back, adding a shrug emoji for casual points.

The party was exactly what she expected—red solo cups, borderline acoustic guitar covers, and enough Axe body spray to asphyxiate a small country. Maya found herself wedged between the keg and a potted plant, nursing a lukewarm soda while watching Jake hold court like the king of high school social climbing.

"Goldfish!" someone shouted, and for a horrible second, Maya thought they were calling her. But then a guy in a varsity jacket came crashing through the back door, holding up a plastic bag with an actual goldfish inside. "Housewarming gift for Bear!"

The goldfish, which someone had already dubbed 'Swim Shady,' was immediately subjected to the worst kind of teen boy attention—being shaken, photographed for Instagram stories, and nearly dropped twice.

Maya found herself reaching out. "Give me that."

Varsity Jacket guy blinked, then handed it over. "Whatever, it's just a feeder fish."

"It's literally a living creature," Maya snapped, then immediately felt like the world's biggest buzzkill. But she found herself heading toward Jake's bedroom, where she knew he kept an empty aquarium from his brief exotic pet phase.

"Need help?" Chloe appeared beside her, phone already down. "I can hold the bag while you—"

"Since when do you care about fish?" Maya heard herself say, sharper than intended.

Chloe's expression shifted. "Since when do you not accept help?"

They stood there for a beat—the weird tension that had been building all year suddenly feeling stupid and unnecessary. Outside, someone started playing the wrong song on Jake's guitar, and they both cracked up.

"Fine," Maya said. "But you're naming it."

"Swim Shady stays, fight me."

By midnight, Swim Shady was happily swimming in purified water while Maya and Chloe sat on the bathroom counter, taking turns feeding the fish crushed-up Doritos (which Google said was terrible for them, but whatever) while Jake occasionally checked in like the worried parent he wasn't.

"You know," Jake said, leaning against the doorframe, "this is literally the most high school thing we've ever done."

"We're saving a life, Bear," Chloe said. "Have some respect."

Maya watched her friends—really watched them—and realized that even if they were all becoming different people, the weird, chaotic core was still there. The Zoo Crew might be evolving, but they weren't extinct yet.

"Next week," Maya said, "we're getting that fox a proper habitat."

"I'm not a fox," Chloe protested. "That's just my—"

"Your everything," Maya finished. "I know."

And for the first time in months, Maya felt like maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the forgotten member of the group after all.