Pyramid Scheme of Heartbreak

Maya's older brother Ethan was a total legend at Northwood High — varsity quarterback, student council president, the kind of guy whose name everyone knew. Meanwhile, Maya was just a freshman trying not to embarrass herself at her first real party.

The party was at Tyler's house — his parents were out of town, obviously. The social pyramid was on full display: football players at the top, then the cheerleaders, then everyone else trying to climb their way up. Maya stood near the snack table, nursing a flat Coke, feeling painfully invisible.

"Hey, you're Ethan's sister, right?" Some guy she didn't recognize leaned against the wall, way too close. "He's such a bull on the field, you know."

Maya nodded, even though she'd never actually watched a full game. "Yeah, he's pretty awesome."

"I'm Marcus." He flashed a smile that was probably supposed to be charming. "Wanna go somewhere quieter?"

Her stomach did that nervous flutter thing. This was it — her first real party moment. But then she caught the look on Jenna's face across the room. Jenna, who'd been her lab partner all semester and had actually helped her pass biology. Jenna was shaking her head almost imperceptibly, eyes wide like she knew something Maya didn't.

"Actually, I gotta find my friend," Maya said, slipping away before Marcus could respond.

She found Jenna outside on the back porch, sitting on the edge of the empty pool. "You okay?"

"You're like a goldfish or something," Jenna said, laughing. "Three-second memory. Don't you remember what he did to Sarah last week?"

Maya's face burned. Oh right. Marcus was the guy who'd leaked those photos. "Ugh, I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're good. But yeah, watch out for the foxes in sheep's clothing." Jenna pulled a bag of chips from her pocket. "Wanna hang out here? My dog back home is way better company than anyone in there."

They spent the rest of the night sitting on the porch edge, talking about everything from how much high school sucked to their dreams of escaping this town someday. Jenna wanted to be a journalist; Maya was secretly obsessed with photography but too scared to show anyone her work.

"Show me," Jenna said when Maya finally admitted it.

So she pulled out her phone and scrolled through the shots she'd taken — the city at sunset, her neighbor's cat mid-jump, the way light hit the school hallway at 7:45 AM.

"Maya, these are actually fire," Jenna said, eyes wide. "You're not invisible, you know. You're just focusing on the wrong things."

Inside, someone started playing that song everyone was obsessed with, and for the first time all night, Maya didn't feel FOMO. She was exactly where she was supposed to be.

"Hey," she said, "next party, we should just bring my brother's old goldfish and like, vibe."

Jenna cackled. "Only if you promise to teach me how to actually use a camera."

The social pyramid inside could keep rotating itself. Maya had found her people.