Three Inches Deep

Maya's thumbs hovered over her iPhone screen, the glow illuminating her hiding spot behind the punch bowl. Jordan was across the basement laughing with his friends, that laugh that made her stomach do somersaults. She'd been lurking in his DMs for twenty minutes, typing and deleting the same joke.

"You're taking your vitamin D gummy, right?" her mom had yelled that morning, shoving the bottle at her. "It's seasonal depression season."

Seasonal depression. More like year-round social anxiety.

"Hey, you gonna hide there all night?" Chloe appeared, sliding past with a red cup. "Jordan's literally looking over here."

"I'm not hiding," Maya lied, pocketing her phone. "I'm... observing."

"Observing from behind the snacks table. Bold strategy." Chloe bumped her shoulder. "Come on. We're doing karaoke."

Maya's chest tightened. But then she thought about her goldfish, Captain Fin. He swam in circles all day in his tiny bowl, three inches of water, same routine, never going anywhere. At least he seemed happy about it.

The truth was, Maya was tired of swimming in circles. She'd spent the whole first semester of sophomore year watching from behind screens—her phone, her bedroom window, the edges of parties. Her therapist called it "avoidance coping." Maya called it survival.

"Fine," Maya said. "But I'm picking the song."

They made it through two verses of an Olivia Rodrigo song before Maya's cat-obsessed brain noticed something orange and fuzzy near the speakers. The host's cat, Mango, was batting at something near the karaoke machine.

"Is that—" Maya started.

The cat pounced. Someone screamed. Mango came trotting over with something silver and flopping in his mouth.

"Oh my GOD," Jordan shouted, rushing toward them. "Is that my sister's fish?!"

The whole room dissolved into chaos. Maya didn't think. She just moved—dropping to the floor, gently prying Mango's jaws open, and grabbing the fish before anyone could process what was happening.

"Bathroom!" she yelled, already running.

She found a bowl, filled it with water, and slid the goldfish in. It floated there, motionless.

"Oh please," she whispered. "Don't die on my watch. Captain Fin would never."

A tiny flick of a fin. Then another.

The door creaked open. Jordan leaned against the frame, grinning. "That was literally the most metal thing I've ever seen."

Maya's face burned. "I just have a lot of experience with my cat trying to eat my fish. It's not... cool."

"It's a little cool," he said. "Also, you have a fish named Captain Fin?"

"Don't worry about it."

He laughed, and it sounded different than it had from across the room—softer, real. "Hey, my phone's at like 3%. Want to walk to the gas station with me? We can get those vitamin waters that taste like chalk."

Maya looked at her phone, still clutched in her hand. She could retreat, finish the night the way she started—lurking, watching, waiting.

Or she could swim outside the bowl.

"Yeah," she said, pocketing the iPhone. "Let's go."