Three Second Memory

Marcus gripped the phone cable, his knuckles white. Outside, the bull snorted, massive and unpredictable, while Liam adjusted his phone camera, eyes manic with the need for content.

"Dude, it's viral gold," Liam insisted, though Marcus noticed his hands shook slightly. "Just stand by the fence, hold the goldfish bowl, and I'll fake like I'm gonna jump. The contrast, right? Innocent pet vs beast. It's poetic."

The goldfish—Marcus's sister's prize from the fair—swam in lazy circles, oblivious. Like Marcus used to be, before sophomore year rewrote everything.

They'd been best friends since kindergarten, but lately Liam chased clout like it was oxygen. Every hangout became a setup, every moment content. Marcus felt stretched thin, an old cable about to snap.

"This isn't worth it," Marcus said, stomach tight. "That bull weighs, like, a thousand pounds."

"Bro, don't be lame. I thought you were my friend."

The word hit wrong. Real friends didn't put you in positions where getting trampled by livestock was on the table. Real friends didn't treat your sister's pet as a prop.

Marcus set the bowl gently in the grass. "I am your friend. That's why I'm saying this—you're chasing something that doesn't matter. And you're gonna get hurt."

Liam's face fell, just for a second, before hardening into something unfamiliar. "Fine. I'll do it myself."

He climbed the fence, phone raised. The bull noticed.

"Liam, get down."

"Watch this—"

The bull charged. Not full speed, but enough. Liam scrambled backward, phone flying, cable tangling around his leg as he hit the dirt on the safe side, breathless and shaking.

Silence. Then laughter—not from them, but from somewhere deep and real, escaping Marcus before he could stop it.

Liam sat up, furious. "You think that's funny?"

"Yeah," Marcus said, surprising himself. "I actually do."

He picked up the goldfish bowl. The fish blinked, like *finally, someone gets it*.

"I'm going home," Marcus said. "Call me when you remember who you are."

Walking away, cable swinging free, Marcus felt lighter than he had in months. Some friendships had a three-second memory anyway.