Pyramid Schemes and Pool Parties

The humidity hit Maya like a wall when she stepped onto Chloe's back patio. Three dozen kids from sophomore year clustered around the in-ground pool, their laughter cutting through the sultry July air. Maya clutched her phone, scrolling through Instagram to look busy, to look like she had somewhere better to be.

"Yo, Maya!" Jason waved from the deep end, dripping wet. His snapback floated on the water's surface beside him. "Get in here, the water's perfect."

Maya forced a smile. She'd been crushing on Jason since middle school, back when he'd doodled pyramids in the margins of his math notebook and let her copy his homework. But that was before he'd gotten hot, before the soccer team, before he'd become the kind of guy who said things were "bull" when they didn't go his way.

"Maybe later," she called back, but they both knew she wouldn't. Her new bikini was already giving her anxiety, and she'd barely spoken to anyone since switching schools last month.

She found a spot in the shade, scrolling through messages from her old friends. They'd all stayed behind, all still tight in their little pyramid of popularity that she'd somehow fallen out of.

A bulldog—Chloe's family's new addition, apparently—waddled over and nosed her ankle. His tag read "Tank." Maya scratched behind his ears, grateful for the distraction.

"Hey, sorry about Tank." Chloe appeared, toweling her hair. "He thinks he's a lap dog. It's embarrassing."

"No, he's good," Maya said. "I like dogs."

"So what's your deal?" Chloe dropped onto the lounge chair beside her. "You've been hiding over here all afternoon."

Maya hesitated. This was the part where she'd usually make something up, say she was tired, claim she had homework. But the water kept catching the sunlight, flashing bright, and Jason's laughter carried across the pool, and suddenly Maya was just tired of pretending.

"I'm terrible at parties," she admitted. "Like, socially anxious disaster level terrible. And I barely know anyone here."

Chloe studied her for a moment. "That's it? That's your big dark secret?"

Maya shrugged. "Pretty pathetic, right?"

"Nah." Chloe stood up and extended a hand. "Come on. I'm about to do something incredibly stupid, and I need witnesses."

"What are you—"

"Watch this." Chloe marched to the edge of the pool. "Everyone! Attention!" The music dipped as heads turned. "I am officially starting a pyramid scheme, but for friendship. If you're cool with Maya, you get prime seating at my birthday bash next month. If not, you're stuck with the cheap pizza."

Maya's face burned. But then Jason yelled, "I call the VIP section!" and someone else shouted, "Maya's a legend, she helped me with chem lab," and suddenly everyone was laughing, but not in a mean way.

Chloe dropped back onto her chair, grinning. "See? Nobody actually cares that you're awkward. We're all just pretending we know what we're doing."

Tank the bulldog snored softly between them. The water shimmered. For the first time all afternoon, Maya felt like she could breathe.

"You're full of bull," she said, but she was smiling too.

"Absolutely." Chloe nudged her. "Now come in the water before I push you in."

And for once, Maya didn't overthink it. She stood up and walked toward the pool, where Jason was still grinning like an idiot, and for the first time in forever, she didn't care what anyone thought.