Three Words at the Party

The carnival music thumped against my chest as Maya grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the booth with the plastic bags swimming with orange flashes.

"Dude, you have to win one," she said, already digging in her pocket for quarters. "It, like, completes the vibe of freshman year."

I rolled my eyes but handed over three dollars to the carnie with the greasy mustache. The ping-pong balls felt impossibly light in my hand, like they'd float away before I could toss them into those tiny glass bowls. First one bounced off the rim. Second one plopped into the blue bowl next to it.

Third one swished through.

"Winner!" The carnie slid over a bag containing a single **goldfish** that stared at me with what I swear was judgment.

Maya was losing it. "You're literally a dad now. Fish dad energy."

"Shut up," I said, but I was kind of proud. We named him Glitterbucks because his scales shimmered like the overpriced drinks Sarah's older sister bought us last weekend.

The real disaster happened later at Tyler's house. His parents were out of town, obviously, and someone had brought exotic fruits because apparently that's what people did for clout now. I was standing there holding my fish bag, trying to look chill, when Brianna walked in.

Brianna, who I'd had a crush on since seventh grade when she defended me from that bully in math class. Brianna, whose Instagram stories I watched the second they posted.

"Want to try this?" she asked, holding out a slice of something bright orange and musky-smelling. "It's **papaya**. My mom's obsessed with it."

I took it because I was down bad and would've eaten anything she handed me. "Thanks."

One bite in and my face did something unhinged. It tasted like old socks mixed with honey, and suddenly the room was too warm and everyone was watching and I couldn't swallow.

"You good?" Tyler asked from across the room, wearing that ridiculous **bear** costume from the school mascot closet because he thought it was hilarious.

I choked it down. "Yeah. Love it. Five stars."

Brianna laughed—not mean, but actual amusement. "You don't have to pretend. It took me three tries to like it."

Something about her saying that made it okay. Made the whole night feel less like a performance and more like... whatever this was. Just us being weird teenagers with tropical fruit and bad ideas.

"Next time," she said, "I'll bring something normal. Like chips."

"Yeah," I managed, and Glitterbags swam in his bag next to my hip, oblivious to how badly my heart was hammering. "Chips sound good."

Maya found me ten minutes later. "Did I just see you talking to Brianna while holding a fish?"

"Shut up."

"My guy," she said, draping an arm around my shoulders, "this is the most iconic night of your life."