Thunder Struck the Pyramid

Marcus stood at the bottom of the social pyramid—again. Junior year at Northwood High, and he was still invisible, while kids like Tyler reigned supreme at the top. It was exhausting, playing this rigged game.

"Yo, Marcus!" His best friend Dani jogged over, holding his phone. "Check this. Some crazy pyramid scheme going around. Kids are supposedly making mad money."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Bro, that's obviously a scam."

"No for real, Jordan's in it. She made five hundred bucks last—"

"Jordan fell for it?" Marcus's stomach did that stupid flutter thing. He'd been lowkey crushing on Jordan since sophomore year, when they'd partnered up for that bio project and she'd laughed at his terrible jokes.

His golden retriever Max nudged his hand, demanding attention. Marcus had brought Max to the park just to escape the pyramid drama, but here it was anyway.

That's when he saw her—Jordan, walking her tiny fox terrier along the path. She looked stressed.

Marcus's brain short-circuited. He should walk over. He should say something smooth. But his feet felt glued to the ground.

"Go talk to her," Dani whispered, way too loud.

"I can't just—" A crack of lightning split the sky, followed immediately by thunder that shook his chest. The sky opened up.

Jordan's dog bolted, dragging her toward the street where some guy was speeding in his pickup.

Everything happened at once—Marcus dropping Max's leash, running full sprint, heart pounding like crazy. He grabbed Jordan's arm, yanking her back just as the truck blew past, horn blaring.

Her terrier was safe too, cowering in the bushes.

Jordan was shaking. "Oh my god. Thank you."

Marcus couldn't breathe. His hands were trembling. "No problem."

"That was... really brave."

"Yeah, well," Marcus managed, "my dog would've been devastated if anything happened to your—what's his name?"

She smiled, and the whole lightning-flash moment lit up everything: the pyramid didn't matter. The scheme didn't matter. None of it did.

"His name is Buster," Jordan said. "Hey, are you busy Saturday? My friend's having this thing, and—"

"I'm not busy," Marcus said way too fast.

Jordan laughed. "Cool."

Max bounded over, completely unfazed, while Buster peered out from the bushes like the tiny fox he was. Marcus stood there in the rain, grinning like an idiot, finally seeing something he'd missed all along: sometimes you have to get struck by lightning to realize where you're supposed to be standing.