Papaya Pyramid Schemes

Leo's palms were sweating. Again. He wiped them on his apron, probably for the twentieth time that morning, while trying to look chill. Like someone who definitely didn't have a massive crush on the girl currently walking toward his family's fruit stand.

"Hey Leo," Maya said, all sunshine and confidence in her vintage band tee. "Your dad around?"

"In the back." Leo gestured vaguely, heart doing somersaults. "What's up?"

"I need to talk to him about something." She leaned against the counter, and Leo noticed a stray cat winding through her legs like it owned the place. The same orange tabby that had been showing up daily for weeks, demanding tribute in the form of rejected fruit.

"Pyramid's looking solid today," Maya nodded toward Leo's carefully constructed papaya display, a literal pyramid of perfectly ripened fruit he'd spent forty minutes arranging.

"Thanks." Leo felt his face heating up. "It's... it's an art, really."

Maya laughed, and the sound made his chest feel weird. "You're so random. Anyway, your dad mentioned you're good with... social media stuff?"

Leo blinked. "I guess? Why?"

"I'm starting this papaya business. Online. Direct to consumer." She pulled out her phone, showing him a logo she'd designed. "But I need someone who actually knows what they're doing to help me blow it up. I'll split profits fifty-fifty."

Leo stared at her. Was she serious? Or was this some kind of pyramid scheme?

"I mean," Maya continued, "I know you're quiet and everything, but I've seen your TikToks. They're actually fire. You've got, like, this whole aesthetic that just—"

"Wait, you've seen my TikToks?" Leo's voice squeaked. Smooth. So smooth.

"Duh." Maya rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Half the school follows you. You just don't post your face, so you think you're invisible or whatever. But people notice, Leo. They notice."

The orange cat jumped onto the counter and knocked a papaya off the pyramid. It rolled dramatically across the floor.

They both laughed. And in that moment, Leo's sweaty palms didn't feel so embarrassing anymore. They felt like the beginning of something.

"So," Maya said, "are you in?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah. I'm in."

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Probably his friends wanting to know why he wasn't at the beach. But honestly? He was exactly where he wanted to be.