Summer's Broken Pyramid Scheme

The social pyramid at Crestwood High was crystal clear: Jenna at the apex, her circle just below, everyone else scattered like debris. Then came the night of Marcus's pool party, where everything tilted sideways.

"You nervous?" asked Leo, adjusting his swim trunks. He'd been crushing on Jenna since seventh grade.

"Nah, just checking my palm," I lied. Actually, I was sweating because Jenna had actually invited me to her pre-game session. The exclusive pre-game.

Inside, Jenna sat surrounded by her squad, their phones arranged like artifacts. "Okay, so Tyler's doing this whole crypto thing, it's literally a vitamin for your portfolio," she announced, holding court like a TED Talk gone wrong. "My brother's already made three grand."

I choked on my sparkling water. "Jenna, that sounds exactly like a pyramid scheme."

Silence. Then: "You're just negative, Maya."

Later, swimming laps in the pool to escape the awkwardness, I found myself alone with Tyler—Jenna's crypto-brother, floating on an inflatable raft, texting furiously.

"She get you too?" I asked, treading water.

Tyler laughed. "Every summer. First it was leggings, then skincare, now this." He showed me his phone—a picture of his actual goldfish, looking unimpressed. "Named him Bernie. After Madoff."

I burst out laughing, swallowed pool water, surfaced coughing. Tyler jumped in, clothes and all, and suddenly we were both underwater, the muffled sounds of the party above us like another dimension.

When we broke surface, Jenna was watching from the pool's edge. For a second, her pyramid-goddess facade slipped. She looked tired.

"Whatever," she said, flipping her palm over to check a nonexistent notification. "You guys are weird."

"Thanks," I said, and actually meant it.

That night, lying in bed watching TikToks about pyramid schemes and palm readings, I realized something: the real vitamin wasn't Jenna's crypto tips or Marcus's party momentum. It was finding the people who'd jump in fully clothed just to keep you from drowning in shallow water.

The pyramid still existed on Monday. But something had shifted. I'd found my people.