Three Feet of Connection

Max's hands shook as he knelt behind the TV stand, the ethernet cable clutched like a lifeline. The basement party thumped overhead—muffled bass, distant laughter, the kind of social scene that usually sent him retreating to his room. But tonight, he'd promised Leo he'd try.

"You good down there?"

Max jumped, banging his head on the entertainment center. A girl with blue-streaked hair and crooked glasses stood there, holding a red Solo cup like it was evidence.

"Just... fixing the wifi," Max mumbled, face heating. "Leo's streaming the game upstairs and it's lagging."

"Ah, the noble sacrifice." She dropped into a crouch beside him. "I'm Sam. Leo's cousin's friend."

"Max. Leo's friend."

"Cool." She pointed at his cable. "That's not gonna work. That's a crossover cable."

Max blinked. "How can you tell?"

"The colors on the wires inside the connector are flipped." Sam laughed at his expression. "What? I did IT support for my dad's business all through high school. Total scam job, paid for my first car."

"That's... actually really cool," Max said, surprising himself. Usually, his tongue would be tied in knots by now.

"Wanna know something cooler?" Sam leaned in closer. "There's a goldfish in the bathroom that's been alive for seven years. It's apparently the real reason Leo's family bought this house—they couldn't leave him behind."

Max found himself grinning. "That's ridiculous."

"Right? His name is Gerald. I checked." She stood up, extending a hand. "Come on. Let me show you the setup in the utility room. There's a whole box of cables. And Gerald's tank is on the way."

Max hesitated—social anxiety flaring—then took her hand. "Yeah. Okay."

They didn't go back upstairs for two hours. They traded stories about terrible first jobs and weird family traditions while Sam taught him to crimp Ethernet cables. When Leo finally found them, Max was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

"Dude, where have you been?" Leo asked. "The wifi's been working fine."

Max and Sam exchanged a look.

"Cable was broken," Max said.

"Totally busted," Sam agreed, deadpan.

Later, Max would realize it was the first time he'd ever voluntarily stayed at a party past the twenty-minute mark. But for now, he just followed Sam back toward the bathroom, curious to meet a fish who'd apparently figured out what Max was just learning: sometimes the best connections happen when you stop looking at the screen and start looking at the person right next to you.