Pyramid Schemes & Purple Dye

Maya stared at her phone, thumb hovering over Jake's Instagram story for the third time today. She was basically a professional spy at this point, tracking his every move from the safety of her bedroom. Her golden retriever, Buster, flopped his head onto her knee, sensing her drama.

"You're the only one who gets me, Buster," she sighed, scratching behind his ears.

The school's social pyramid had been crystal clear since sixth grade: the popular kids at the top, the try-hards in the middle, and everyone else just trying to survive somewhere below. Maya had been comfortably anonymous until last week, when she'd accidentally made eye contact with Jake in the cafeteria. Now she was spiraling.

Her phone buzzed. A group chat message from her best friend Chloe: "PYRAMID SCHEME ALERT lolol"

Maya clicked the link. Some sophomore was selling "vitality crystals" and trying to recruit people into his downline. The audacity of actual MLMs in their high school.

But it gave her an idea.

Two hours and one bathroom disaster later, Maya stared in the mirror. Her previously mouse-brown hair now featured a chunky streak of accidental purple. The box had promised "subtle highlights." The box had lied.

Buster tilted his head, confused.

"I know, buddy. I know."

Her phone buzzed again. Jake had posted. Maya clicked before she could stop herself — and almost dropped her phone.

Jake's story: a selfie at the exact spot where Maya had spilled coffee last week, captioned "thinking of someone specific out there 😏"

Maya's heart did gymnastics. Was this real? Was this happening? She drafted approximately forty-seven responses, deleted them all, and settled on reposting his story with the caption "same energy fr fr."

Twenty minutes later, he DM'd her.

"Hey, aren't you in AP Bio? Thought that purple hair looked familiar."

Maya messaged back, hands shaking. The purple was accidental, the pyramid scheme was ridiculous, and Buster was still staring at her like she'd lost her mind. But sometimes, somehow, the universe aligned in the weirdest ways.

She wasn't at the top of any pyramid, but she had purple hair, a dog who loved her, and a boy's DM open on her phone. That was enough.