Red Solo Pyramid

Maya stood in the corner of Jordan's basement, clutching her red solo cup like it was a lifeline. The pyramid of empty beer cans on the ping pong table seemed to mock her — a towering monument to everyone else's effortless social game while she was still stuck on level one.

"You look like a goldfish that's been dropped in shark tank," Jordan said, appearing beside her. He was wearing that ridiculous fedora hat he refused to take off, even indoors. "You gonna swim or what?"

"I don't know these people," Maya mumbled. "I'm gonna charge in there like a bull in a china shop and say something weird."

"Okay, first, nobody says that anymore. Second," Jordan nodded toward the kitchen, "that's Leo. He's in your bio class. Talk about literally anything — mitochondria, last week's lab, how his goldfish died last semester. I don't care, Maya."

"That's so specific."

"I pay attention. Unlike SOMEONE." He elbowed her. "Also, I saw him staring at you earlier when you weren't looking."

Maya's stomach did that annoying flutter thing. "You're lying."

"I swear on my hat's life." Jordan pulled the fedora off his head and held it to his chest like it was wounded. "Go talk to him or I'm telling everyone you still sleep with a stuffed animal."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me, fox." He grinned — the same grin that had gotten her into trouble in sixth grade when they'd TP'd the neighbor's house and somehow blamed it on "mysterious wind patterns."

Maya took a breath, smoothed her shirt, and headed toward the kitchen where Leo was standing by the chip bowl, looking almost as awkward as she felt. She could do this. Probably. Maybe. Okay, definitely not, but Jordan was already watching with that expectant you-better-not-leave-me-hanging expression, and she owed him for last week when he'd covered for her when she forgot their history project was due.

"Hey," she said, and Leo looked up like he'd been hoping someone would talk to him. "I'm Maya. We sit three seats apart in bio."

His smile was worth the panic attack. "I know who you are."

Well then. Maybe high school wouldn't be completely terrible after all.