Three Seconds Under

The goldfish bowl sat on Maya's dresser like a forgotten thought, its single occupant — a orange speck named Neptune — swimming in endless circles. honestly, the fish had more personality than Kyle lately.

"He's just going through something," Chloe said, flopping onto Maya's bed and scrolling through TikTok. "Guys get weird when they start high school. It's practically a law of physics."

Maya rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt. "We've been best friends since kindergarten, Chlo. Now he's too busy for lunch, too cool for video games, but has time to post stories with his new 'squad' every five minutes? That's not physics. That's betrayal."

"That's rich," Maya's older sister Jayden leaned against the doorframe, holding their cat Mochi like a fuzzy baby. "Coming from someone who's spent the last three months obsessing over a fish that can't even remember her name."

Mochi leaped from Jayden's arms and landed on the dresser, tail twitching with predatory interest. Neptune swam faster, sensing danger like a tiny orange apocalypse approaching.

"Mochi, no!" Maya lunged for the cat, but it was too late. A paw swiped. Water everywhere. Fish on the carpet.

"Oh my GOD," Chloe gasped. "Is it —"

"Don't just stand there!" Maya grabbed a cup from her nightstand, scooped up Neptune, and dumped him into the bathroom sink. The fish floated sideways, gills working overtime.

"He's not gonna make it," Jayden said quietly. "Betta luck next time, sis."

Maya stared at the dying fish, something hot and stupid pressing behind her eyes. Everything was changing. Kyle was gone. Neptune was dying. She was still in the same bedroom with the same glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, but nothing felt the same.

"Wait," Chloe said suddenly. "Remember that biology presentation? The one where Harris's lab partner dropped that goldfish on the floor and it survived for like twenty minutes because something about their gills can breathe air for a bit?"

Maya's fingers moved before she could think it through. She grabbed a cup, filled it with fresh water, and gently slid Neptune inside. The fish righted itself slowly, orange fins trembling.

Three days later, Neptune was back in his bowl, swimming circles like nothing happened. Kyle finally texted: sorry ive been weird. u wanna hang?

Maya typed: sure. but no squad vibes allowed.

"Goldfish have three-second memories," Jayden said, watching Maya type. "Maybe that's a superpower."

"What?"

"forgetting stuff." Jayden shrugged. "Moving on. Some things aren't worth holding onto forever."

Maya hit send. Neptune did a loop-de-loop. Mochi watched from the floor, tail flicking, and maybe — just maybe — the cat actually looked disappointed.