Pyramid Schemes and Laps

The social pyramid at Northwood High was more real than the actual pyramid my mom had dragged us to Egypt to see last summer. At least the pyramids in Giza had stood for thousands of years. The one at school? Rebuilt every Monday morning.

I slid into the pool, the cool water wrapping around me like the sanctuary I desperately needed after third period. Swimming was the only place where nobody could text you, nobody could look at you like you'd grown a second head, and nobody expected you to care about who sat with whom at lunch.

Coach Morgan's voice echoed off the tiles. "Miller, you're lagging! What's this, a leisure swim?"

"Sorry, Coach," I called back, pushing off the wall. Not sorry. My mind was still stuck on the confrontation earlier with Tyler—the biggest bullshitter on the swim team. He'd been telling everyone that he'd gotten recruited by Duke, which was straight-up bull. Duke wasn't even recruiting for men's swimming this year, something I knew because I'd actually done the research.

My phone had been blowing up all morning. Maya asking if I heard about Tyler. Jordan wanting to know if I was going to captain's practice on Friday. And my mom, in all caps, asking if I'd talked to my "friends" about her new wellness pyramid scheme—because apparently it's totally normal to recruit your teenage daughter's friends to sell essential oils.

I finished my laps and pulled myself out of the pool, water dripping from my hair onto the deck. Tyler was there, surrounded by his usual fan club.

"Yo, Harper!" Tyler called, grinning that grin that made half the school swoon and me want to gag. "You coming to my party Saturday? Duke acceptance celebration."

The words were out before I could stop them. "Duke isn't recruiting for swimming this year, Tyler. I checked their roster yesterday."

Silence. Dead pool-deck silence. Tyler's face turned the color of a ripe tomato.

I grabbed my towel and walked away, heart hammering against my ribs. Maybe I'd just knocked myself down a few levels on the social pyramid. But as I caught Maya's eye from across the pool deck and she gave me a tiny thumbs-up, I figured some falls were worth the landing.