The Fox at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Maya stared at the cafeteria's social pyramid—jocks at the top, then theater kids, then everyone else—while sitting with her tray of untouched nachos. She was somewhere near the bottom, probably below the kids who played Magic cards in the library.

"You coming to Jordan's party?" asked Riley, sliding into the seat across from her. Riley was a golden retriever in human form—too energetic, too trusting, always wagging her tail at the wrong people.

"I wasn't invited," Maya said.

"Neither was I. But Tyler said he's going, and Tyler's friends with Sam, and Sam's cousin is Jordan's neighbor. We're basically invited by association."

Maya snorted. "That's not how any of this works."

"Come on. It's our freshman year. We're supposed to do dumb stuff and regret it later."

That night, they stood outside Jordan's house. The music thumped against the windows. Someone's dog—a confused-looking beagle—wandered onto the porch, sniffed Maya's sneakers, and decided she was worthy of attention.

"See?" Riley whispered. "Even the dog wants us here."

Inside, the air smelled like cheap body spray and desperation. Maya spotted Tyler immediately, talking loudly about nothing in the center of a circle that included several people from the top of the pyramid. He looked like he was vibrating.

"You're Maya, right?" A boy appeared beside her—lanky, dark hair, a fox-like sharpness to his face. "I'm Leo. I sit behind you in bio."

"Oh. Hi."

"You look like you'd rather be literally anywhere else."

"Is it that obvious?"

"I've been there." Leo gestured toward the crowd. "This whole thing is a performance. Everyone's pretending they're having the time of their lives because that's what you're supposed to do at parties."

"So why are you here?"

"Free food." He grinned. "And my sister said if I didn't leave the house, she'd disinherit me from the family Netflix account."

Maya laughed—actually laughed—for the first time all night.

They ended up on the back porch, watching the beagle chase its tail in the yard while Tyler dramatically recounted a story to his captive audience inside.

"You know," Leo said, "I saw you in bio last week. You drew that entire fox diagram from memory. That was kind of impressive."

Maya felt warmth creep up her neck. "I like animals."

"Same." He pulled out his phone. "Want to see pictures of my sister's dog? It's a husky mix that thinks it's a lap dog."

They scrolled through photos until Riley burst out the back door. "Maya! Tyler's looking for you! He wants to introduce you to Sam!"

"Tell him I'm busy," Maya said, and something in her chest shifted—light, unfamiliar, okay.