Goldfish at the Top

Maya stared at the cafeteria ceiling—someone had taped a paper pyramid to the fluorescent light, like the whole social hierarchy was literally hanging over our heads. She sighed, poking at her lunch.

"You gonna eat that?" asked Leo, sliding into the seat across from her. Maya's golden **dog**, Barnaby, was waiting outside the school gates—Leo always walked her home just to see him.

"You want my mushy carrots? Be my guest." Maya pushed her tray toward him, then noticed something weird. "What's with the Flintstone **vitamin** bottle on your keychain?"

Leo flushed. "My mom thinks I'm not eating enough vegetables since I started playing **padel** with the varsity guys. She's not wrong—I suck at it, but at least they're letting me play."

Maya's heart did that annoying fluttery thing. She'd been crushing on him since September, watching him from her spot near the bottom of the school's social pyramid. The popular kids sat by the windows. Maya sat with her geometry book and her overactive imagination.

"You don't suck," she said, maybe too quickly. "You almost hit that winner yesterday against Josh."

Leo's face lit up. "You were watching?"

Maya's face burned. "I mean, I was just... waiting for Barnaby to pee on that same tree he always pees on. It's hard to miss the courts from there."

Leo laughed, and suddenly the cafeteria felt less like a minefield. "Hey, some of us are going to the arcade after school. There's this new game—definitely not my thing, but Jordan said something about winning a **goldfish** for his little sister's birthday. Come with?"

Maya's mind spun. This was it—the chance to climb the pyramid, to stop being the quiet girl with the geometry book and start being someone who mattered. But as she looked at Leo, really looked at him, she realized something.

The pyramid was just paper taped to a light by someone who'd graduate and forget this place existed. Leo—sweet, weird, wonderful Leo—was real. Barnaby waiting by the fence was real. And maybe, just maybe, she didn't need to climb anywhere to be exactly where she was supposed to be.

"Only if you let me win that goldfish," she said, grinning.

Leo's smile was better than any social status she could have dreamed of. "Deal."