Summer Text Messages

Maya's iPhone buzzed with another Instagram notification. Her former best friend Sarah had posted photos from the country club—again. Third time this week. The caption read: "Padel queens! 💅" featuring Sarah and her new squad in matching pastel outfits on the court.

Maya tossed the phone onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. The social pyramid at Ridgewood High had shifted over summer break, and Maya had somehow slid from the apex to somewhere near the bottom. Sarah's ascent to popular girl status had come with a price: their friendship.

"Maya! Get down here!" her mom called. "Swimming lessons start in twenty!"

Teaching little kids how to swim wasn't exactly how sixteen-year-olds dreamed of spending their Tuesday afternoons. But the community center job paid—unlike being ghosted by your best friend since kindergarten.

At the pool, Maya tied back her hair and tried to ignore her phone vibrating in her bag. Probably just more notifications she didn't want to see.

"She won't get in," a frazzled mother gestured to a girl around Maya's age clinging to the pool edge. "Says she's scared of deep water."

Maya approached slowly. The girl had the same terrified expression Maya had seen on her own face countless times this summer—minus the pool part.

"Hey. I'm Maya."

"Chloe. This is embarrassing."

"Dude, I literally still watch Bluey when I'm having a bad day. Nothing's embarrassing here."

Chloe cracked a smile.

By lesson's end, Chloe had doggy-paddled across the shallow end. They'd exchanged Snapchats. Chloe was new in town, starting at Ridgewood in the fall, and knew nothing about the social pyramid or who was supposedly at the top.

"Wanna get boba?" Chloe asked. "I found this place with really good taro..."

"Yes."

Maya's phone buzzed. Sarah again: "U coming to the padel tournament? Front row seats w/ us 🥺"

Maya typed back: "Can't. Got plans." Then deleted the message and blocked the notifications.

Some friendships were like those pastel padel outfits—looked perfect from afar but fell apart after one wash. Real connections? Those were built in swimming pools, not manufactured on Instagram.

"So," Chloe asked as they walked toward the boba place. "What's the deal with Ridgewood's social pyramid anyway?"

Maya laughed. "Honestly? It's just a pyramid scheme. Nobody actually wins."