Social Pyramid and Sweaty Palms

Marcus stared at the cafeteria's social hierarchy like it was some ancient Egyptian pyramid he'd been studying in history class. Seniors at the top, juniors below them, sophomores trailing behind, and freshmen like him? Basically the foundation—everyone walked all over them.

"You look like a straight-up zombie," his best friend Jayla laughed, sliding her tray across the table. Marcus hadn't slept since Wednesday, thanks to that English paper that kept reinventing itself every time he opened his laptop.

"Tell me about it," Marcus mumbled, rubbing his eyes. His palms were sweating—not the cool kind, the embarrassing kind that happened whenever Sarah Chen walked past their table. Which she did. Every day. Same route.

Marcus's rescue dog, Barnaby, waited for him at home. The Golden Retriever had more game than Marcus ever would. Barnaby could charm anyone into giving him attention, belly rubs, treats. Meanwhile, Marcus couldn't even say hey to a girl without his brain going completely offline.

"She's looking at you," Jayla whispered.

"She's looking past me."

"Bro, she's looking AT you. Go talk to her."

"I can't. My palms are literally sweating right now."

"So what? Wipe them on your jeans like a normal person."

Sarah kept walking, and Marcus kept sitting there, overthinking every possible scenario where he approached her and somehow managed to embarrass himself. The social pyramid seemed insurmountable. Who was he, some freshman nobody, to think he had a chance with someone who sat comfortably in the middle tier?

But then Barnaby's face popped into his head—his dog had literally been found in a dumpster, abandoned and afraid, and still ended up the most confident creature Marcus knew. If a rescue dog could bounce back like that, maybe Marcus could survive one conversation.

He stood up, palms sweating, heart hammering like it'd explode, and walked toward Sarah's table.

"Hey," he managed. "Your history project looked awesome today."

Sarah smiled. "Thanks! I worked forever on that pyramid model."

Marcus grinned. Maybe the pyramid wasn't so unclimbable after all.