The Bull, The Cat, The Hat

Marcus stood outside the rusty metal fence, his dad's dusty western hat pulled low over his eyes. This was it—the moment he'd been dreading all week. The dare.

"You're not actually gonna do it, are you?" Jenna asked, leaning against her beat-up Toyota. Her cat Tigger poked his head out from her open backpack, amber eyes judging Marcus's life choices.

"Marcus, this is such a bull thing to do," his best friend Tyrell laughed, using their school's mascot as an insult like always. "You're literally gonna hop the fence into Miller's ranch just to grab a cow pie for the science fair?"

"It's not cow pies anymore," Marcus muttered, adjusting the hat that kept sliding up. "Mr. Harrison said we could do alternative projects."

"Alternative projects like getting arrested for trespassing?" Jenna raised an eyebrow. She petted Tigger, who purred like he owned this awkward situation.

The truth was, Marcus didn't care about the science fair. He cared about not looking like a total loser in front of everyone—especially Jenna, who'd been his crush since seventh grade when she'd worn that vintage cat-ear hoodie to school and he'd spilled his chocolate milk all over her backpack.

That's when they heard it. A low, rumbling snort that vibrated through the soles of Marcus's Vans.

The bull. THE bull. Big Pete, the thousand-pound menace who'd chased Tyler Garcia halfway across the county last spring. And he was staring right at Marcus.

"Marcus!" Jenna hissed. "Get back here NOW."

But Marcus stood frozen, face-to-face with two thousand pounds of pure don't-mess-with-me. The bull lowered its head, pawing the dirt.

That's when Tigger—Jenna's tiny, twelve-pound house cat—jumped out of her backpack and let out the most pathetic, high-pitched meow imaginable.

The bull blinked.

Marcus slowly removed his hat. "Hey, big guy," he said, his voice cracking mid-sentence. "Nice... horns?"

The bull huffed, turned around, and walked away. Like, actually walked away.

"Did you just..." Jenna started, then cracked up. "Did you just get rejected by a bull?"

Tyrell was losing it. "That's officially the most Marcus thing that's ever happened."

Marcus's face burned hotter than the Texas sun, but then he looked at Jenna—really looked at her—and she wasn't laughing at him. She was smiling. Like, actually smiling at him.

"Wanna get tacos?" she asked, still grinning. "Tigger thinks you need a recovery meal."

"Tigger thinks?" Marcus asked, putting his hat back on.

"Tiger knows all," she said. "And he says you're not half as lame as you look in that hat."

Marcus smiled. For the first time in forever, he felt okay with being exactly who he was: a guy who got rejected by a bull but somehow still got the girl. Even if she did travel with a judgmental cat.