Three Feet From the Bottom

The social pyramid at Northwood High wasn't subtle. Everyone knew their level, and Marcus definitely knew his. Freshman year, he'd landed somewhere near the basement, barely above the kids who ate lunch in the library. That was fine, honestly. He had his PlayStation, his weirdly specific knowledge about retro video games, and his goldfish, Neptune, who'd somehow survived three months despite Marcus's best efforts.

"Dude, just talk to her," Tyrell said, smacking the back of Marcus's head during lunch. "She smiled at you in chem. That's basically a marriage proposal."

Marcus shoved him back. "You know I can't. What would I even say? 'Hey, nice shoes. Also, I named a goldfish after a planet because I watched too much Cosmos as a kid?'"

"Whatever. You're overthinking it." Tyrell rolled his eyes. "Again."

But Marcus wasn't overthinking. He was just realistic. The pyramid didn't rearrange itself for people like him.

Then came that Tuesday when he was walking home and saw this golden retriever sitting on someone's porch, staring at him like it knew something. Marcus stopped. The dog tilted its head.

"What?" Marcus asked.

The dog didn't move, just kept looking at him with this weirdly intense expression, and suddenly Marcus was talking to it. Like, actually talking. About everything. About how he felt like he was always swimming in circles, about how he wished he could just climb out of the tank and be something else, about how sometimes he wondered if the whole pyramid would collapse if everyone just stopped caring about their level.

The dog listened. Or at least, it didn't walk away.

"You're a solid conversationalist," Marcus said finally. "Better than Neptune. He just stares and poops."

A laugh came from behind him. He spun around. There she was. Maya. The chem lab girl. Standing there with this dog on a leash.

"That's Buster," she said. "He's a terrible listener, but he makes people feel comfortable opening up. It's his superpower." She paused. "Also, I named my fish Pluto. The dwarf planet thing feels personal."

Marcus stared.

"So," Maya continued, "you want to come inside? My dad ordered way too much pizza, and Buster clearly likes you."

The pyramid felt very far away suddenly. Marcus grinned.

"Only if I can tell you my theory about why goldfish are actually the most underrated pets."

"Deal."

Some Tuesdays change everything. Marcus didn't know it yet, but he'd just started climbing.