Zombie Goldfish and the Snapback

The red solo cup in my hand shook like I was having a seizure. Jordan's basement party was packed—seniors with fake IDs and sophomores trying too hard. I shouldn't have come. But Maya said she'd be here, and I'd been working up the courage to ask her to homecoming since August.

Then I saw him: Tyler, wearing MY lucky Chicago Bulls snapback backward like he owned it. The hat I'd left in the locker room after basketball practice yesterday, the one my dad gave me before he moved out.

I started toward him, already mentally **running** through the confrontation. My brain was full of **zombie**-like thoughts, repetitive and consuming, but my body moved on autopilot through the crowd of bodies grinding to Drake.

"Yo, that's my hat," I said, tapping his shoulder. He turned, eyes half-closed, grinning like he'd already won whatever game he thought we were playing.

"Chill, Leo, just borrowing it." He made no move to take it off.

Behind me, someone gasped. A girl with streaks of blue in her hair pointed toward the corner. "Is that a **goldfish** in a Solo cup? WHO PUT A LIVE FISH IN A CUP?"

The music stopped. Everyone turned to stare at a tiny orange fish swimming in what used to be someone's jungle juice. And then—chaos. Some sophomore knocked into the table. The cup tipped. The fish flopped onto the carpet, somehow still moving.

"Someone do something!" Maya shouted, pushing through the crowd. Before I could process what was happening, she'd scooped up the fish with her bare hands and bolted toward the bathroom.

"BEAR CREEK POND IS TWO BLOCKS DOWN," Tyler yelled, because apparently that was helpful information.

I don't know what came over me. Maybe it was the hat. Maybe it was Maya's fish-rescue mission. But suddenly I was **running** out the door behind her, Tyler's snapback still on his head, my sneakers slapping against the pavement.

"Wait up!" I called, chasing her through the damp autumn air. She stopped at the edge of the pond, the **goldfish** cupped in her hands like it was made of glass.

"You came," she said, breathless, streetlights catching the tiny flecks of glitter on her cheeks.

"Yeah." My heart hammered. "Your hands must be freezing."

"Worth it." She released the fish into the dark water, where it flickered and vanished. "So. You gonna tell me why you were staring at Tyler's hat all night, or...?"

"Long story." I stepped closer. "But the short version is, I've been meaning to ask you something for like, two months."

Her smile was brighter than the streetlamp overhead. "Ask me now."

Somewhere in the distance, Tyler's voice carried through the night: "YO, WHO LET THE FISH GO? THAT WAS MY EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL!"

Maya laughed. And for the first time all night, I didn't feel like a **zombie** going through the motions. I felt completely, terrifyingly alive.