Cable Pyramid Schemes

The fight started over a guy, obviously. Jason, with his perfect hair and varsity jacket, had become the center of Maya's universe—which meant he was now the center of mine too, by association. Best friend code.

"You're gonna look like a bull in a china shop," I said, gesturing at Maya's outfit. "Literally. That shirt is aggressive."

She rolled her eyes so hard I worried they'd get stuck. "First of all, bulls aren't aggressive, they're just misunderstood. Second, Jason said he likes girls who are bold."

"Jason also said his favorite movie is 'Grown Ups 2.' His taste is questionable."

But we were already in her car, her ancient Honda with the broken **cable** connecting the iPod to the stereo. We had to hold it at a weird angle or the music would cut, leaving us in uncomfortable silence with our thoughts. Tonight's playlist: Maya's "Jason Confidence Mix," featuring way too much Taylor Swift and zero chill.

The real problem wasn't Maya's outfit or her questionable taste in guys. It was that someone—okay, definitely Jason—had spread a rumor about me. Something involving Tyler from math class and a party I wasn't even at.

"We need to address the elephant in the room," I said. "Or the pyramid of rumors."

"What pyramid?"

"The social **pyramid**, Maya!" I gestured wildly. "Where Jason sits at the top with his cool friends, and I'm somewhere near the bottom with people who eat lunch in the library. Which, for the record, is valid and peaceful."

She sighed. "You think too much. Jason's not like that. He's actually really deep once you—"

"Nope. No. I'm not hearing 'deep' and 'Jason' in the same sentence." I adjusted the **cable** as Swift's voice crackled and died. "You know what? This whole thing is **bull**. All of it. The pyramid, the rumors, Jason. I'm done."

Maya went quiet. When I looked over, she was smiling.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just... proud of you."

"For what?"

"For finally realizing that the pyramid only exists if we let it." She turned up the volume, the **cable** miraculously holding steady. "Also, Tyler texted me. Asked if you wanted to study for the math test tomorrow."

I felt my face heat up. "Oh."

"See? Sometimes the universe rewards the people who call bull on the pyramid."

"Shut up."

"Love you too. Now help me fix this cable before we get there—I will NOT arrive to my destiny with no soundtrack."