Unplugged

Marcus positioned himself precisely three steps down from Jordan—peak seat at the lunch table, optimal proximity to popularity. He'd spent freshman year studying the school's social pyramid like it was gonna be on the final. Bottom feeders ate in the bathroom. Mid-tier awkward kids sat by the vending machines. And then there was the top tier: Jordan and his squad, radiating main character energy.

"Your Ethernet cable's dragging again," Jordan said, not even looking up from his phone.

Marcus felt his face flush. He'd been sneaking into the library during free period to game on the school computer because his home WiFi was trash. The thick blue cable stretched across his backpack like evidence of a crime.

"Yo, Marcus," said Ty from two seats down. "You still rocking that wired connection in 2026? That's not it, chief."

Laughter rippled around the table. Marcus forced a chuckle, his chest tight. This was what he wanted, right? To be here, in the inner circle. But lately, the jokes felt less like friendly banter and more like... testing.

His phone buzzed. His actual friend, Drea, had been blowing up his spot all week: "we need to talk," "where have you been," "the project is due Friday." Drea didn't care about social climbing. Drea cared about their history presentation, their三年的友谊, the way they'd nerd out over conspiracy theories together.

After school, Marcus spotted Drea sitting alone on the front steps, textbook open, headphones in. He froze. If he sat with her now, Jordan would see. The pyramid would crumble beneath him. But Drea looked up, caught his eye, and her expression wasn't even mad. Just tired.

"Your dog's probably waiting for you," she said softly.

Buster. His goofy golden retriever who greeted him like he'd been gone for years every single day. Who didn't care if Marcus was popular or if he used wired internet or if his sneakers were from last season. Buster just... liked him.

Something cracked in Marcus's chest. The pyramid suddenly looked less like a ladder and more like what it actually was: a bunch of people standing on each other.

"The history project," Marcus said, sitting down beside her. "The conspiracy angle about aliens building the pyramids. You were right. It's way more interesting than the official explanation."

Drea's eyebrows shot up. "You think?"

"I know," Marcus said, pulling out his phone. "And I may have found some totally legit sources that'll blow Mr. Harrison's mind."

From then on, Marcus still sat with Jordan sometimes. But he learned something nobody teaches you in school: real friends don't make you climb to reach them. They meet you where you are, cable setup and all.