Three Strikes, You're Toast

Marcus's palms were sweating so bad he could barely grip his solo cup. Friday night at Tyler's house—his first actual party since transferring to North High—and he was already hiding behind a potted **palm** in the corner of the backyard.

"You good, man?" Tyler's golden retriever, Buster, nudged his leg, drooling on Marcus's fresh Jordans. "Great. Now the **dog**'s judging me too."

He'd come here with one mission: finally talk to Maya, the girl from his AP Bio class who smiled at him on Thursday. But every time he tried to approach her, his brain short-circuited. What was he supposed to say? Hey, I like your vibes? Wanna check out my impressive collection of overthinking?

Inside, someone accidentally knocked over a fishbowl. "MY **GOLDFISH]**" screamed little Emma, Tyler's sister. "He can't survive on carpet! He needs water!"

Marcus's anxiety spiral was interrupted by Maya herself, marching outside with a rescued fishbowl held aloft like some kind of offering. She spotted him behind the palm.

"Hiding too?" Her grin was lopsided, genuine. "These things are overwhelming."

"Yeah," Marcus managed. "I was just—"

"Save it. I saw you hyperventilating earlier. You're good."

She sat on the grass next to him, setting down the fishbowl. The goldfish, now named Survivor by popular vote, swam in lazy circles.

"I wanted to talk to you," Maya said. "In Bio. Before you did your disappearing act."

"Wait, what?"

"You're funny, Marcus. You helped me with that lab last week and didn't make me feel stupid. That's rare."

His brain flatlined. This wasn't supposed to happen. The universe didn't reward anxiety with the cute girl actually liking him back.

Inside, Tyler started egging people on. "Take the **bull** by the horns! Do karaoke!"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Wanna get out of here? Go get boba?"

Marcus looked at his sweaty palms, the drooling dog, the rescued goldfish, the kid inside screaming karaoke threats. Something inside him shifted.

"Yeah," he said, standing up. "Let's bounce."

His hands were still shaking, but for the first time all night, he didn't mind.