The Fox in the Arcade

I felt like a **zombie** walking into third period, my brain fried from staying up until 3 AM grinding ranked matches. My best friend Jay leaned over, "Bro, you look dead on your feet. Again."

"New season dropped," I mumbled, sliding into my seat. "Had to hit Diamond before the weekend."

That's when I saw her. Maya. The girl who sat two rows ahead, with the effortless waves and the hoodie that always slipped off one shoulder. She caught me looking and gave this tiny half-smile that made my stomach do backflips.

"That's **bull**, man," Jay whispered, nodding toward where Tyler—the actual worst—was leaning over her desk, being way too in her space. "He thinks he's so smooth."

I watched Tyler's hand hover too close to her shoulder. My hands curled into fists under my desk. But I didn't do anything. Because when it came to real life, I was basically NPCs: background character, no dialogue options.

"Whatever," I said. "Not my business."

But then I heard it. Maya's voice, clear and annoyed: "Dude, seriously? Stop."

Tyler didn't back off. And something in me just—snapped.

"Hey," I said, standing up. My voice shook but I kept going. "She said stop."

The whole class went silent. Tyler turned, eyes narrowed. "What?"

"You heard me." I walked over, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might explode. "Back off."

For a second, nobody moved. Then Tyler shrugged and turned back to his phone, muttering something under his breath. I sat back down, my face burning.

Maya turned around in her seat. Her eyes met mine, and this time, the smile was real.

After class, she caught up to me in the hallway. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"No problem." I tried to play it cool, probably failing.

"You play Apex?" she asked, nodding at the keychain on my backpack.

I almost choked. "Yeah. Diamond ranked."

Her grin widened. "No way. I'm stuck in Plat. You should carry me sometime."

"**Fox**," Jay said from behind us, because that was his nickname for anyone slick with words. "Look at you go."

Maya laughed. "I'm Maya, by the way."

"Marcus," I said, and for the first time all week, I didn't feel like a zombie at all.