Pyramid Scheme Gone Right

Maya's iphone buzzed for the third time in five minutes. Another TikTok notification. Another reminder that at Northwood High, if you weren't trending, you basically didn't exist.

"You coming to the game tonight?" Jordan asked, spinning his chair backward to face her. "Liam's gonna attempt the orange pyramid again."

Maya rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. "You mean that thing where he stacks thirty orange sodas in the cafeteria and films it for clout? That's literally the most embarrassing thing to happen since—"

"Since you wore that bear costume to spirit week freshman year?" Jordan cracked up.

Maya threw a balled-up paper at him. "That was TWO YEARS AGO. Let it die."

But her phone kept buzzing. Everyone was talking about Liam's orange pyramid stunt. The whole school seemed obsessed with watching some guy build a literal pyramid out of Fanta bottles like it was the most entertaining thing since sliced bread. And Maya? She was just trying to survive junior year without completely losing herself in the process.

The problem wasn't that she cared about being popular. She didn't. But watching everyone chase after these shallow moments—likes, views, whatever—made something in her chest feel hollow. Like, is this it? Is this what we're all doing here?

Friday night, the gym was packed. The whole pyramid thing had blown up. Someone had even made merch. Maya sat in the bleachers, scrolling through her iphone, watching people film themselves pretending to knock over soda pyramids. The cringe was real.

Then she saw him. Liam. Not performing, not filming, just sitting alone against the back wall, orange-stained shirt, staring at his phone like it might bite him.

Something in Maya shifted.

She walked over, sat beside him. "Hey."

He looked up, surprised. "Oh. Hey. You're Maya, right? From English?"

"Yeah. Look, I know everyone's making fun of your pyramid thing, but... honestly? It's kind of brilliant. You made the whole school stop taking themselves so seriously for like, two seconds. That's honestly iconic."

Liam blinked. Then, slowly, he smiled. "I just... I don't know. I wanted to see if I could get people to look up from their phones for once. Even if it was just to watch me make an idiot out of myself."

"Well, mission accomplished. Also, nice bear emoji choice in your username. Very subtle."

He laughed, and something in Maya's chest unclenched.

Maybe high school wasn't just about surviving the social pyramid. Maybe sometimes you had to build your own—soda cans, weird stunts, and all—and find the people who'd help you knock it down later.

Her iphone buzzed again. She ignored it.