The Signal in the Static

Marcus adjusted the brim of the beanie—the one his older brother swore was 'peak aesthetics'—for the fiftieth time. It kept sliding over his eyes, which was probably fitting, since he felt like he was navigating everything blindfolded lately.

'You good, bro?' Sam asked, sprawled across Marcus's bed, phone in hand.

'Yeah. Just... prepping.'

'For Jordan's party? Bro, it's gonna be mid. Last year someone put a literal pyramid of Solo cups on the counter and called it 'art.'

Marcus snorted, but his stomach did that familiar flip thing. 'Still. Gotta make an appearance. Establish presence, you know?'

'Sure, whatever helps.' Sam gestured to the tangled mess on Marcus's desk. 'Also, you borrowed my charging cable again. I need that back.'

'In a sec.' Marcus unplugged his phone—94% battery, safe for now—and tossed the cable toward Sam. It landed on the comforter like a white snake.

The truth was, Marcus wasn't just 'prepping' for some random party. Jordan had actually DM'd him earlier: 'hey, you coming tonight?' Which meant something, probably, maybe, unless Jordan DM'd everyone.

But that was the thing about high school—you never knew where you stood until you were already standing there, feeling stupid.

At the party, the hat became a problem immediately. Every time he turned his head, the brim caught on something. A coat rack. A volleyball net someone set up inside for reasons unclear. Someone's actual head.

'Marcus!' Jordan appeared, holding a red cup. 'You made it!'

And suddenly the hat didn't matter. The pyramid of cups in the corner didn't matter. The way Marcus had spent forty minutes deciding whether to wear his正品 sneakers or the scuffed Vans didn't matter.

'Yeah,' Marcus said, and his voice actually sounded normal. 'I'm here.'

Jordan grinned. 'Cool. Want me to show you something weird?'

Later, when Marcus checked his phone, it had died sometime between the roof conversation and the group photo with the pyramid of people stacked on the couch. He didn't even care.

Some signals cut through the static. The rest was just noise.