The Goldfish in the Pyramid Scheme

Maya's iPhone buzzed for the third time in five minutes. Another Instagram story from Tyler's party that she wasn't at. Again.

She pulled her baseball hat lower over her forehead, effectively disappearing into the hoodie she'd been living in since freshman year. The cafeteria noise level at defcon 1 — someone had just started a TikTok trend that involved throwing papaya slices at the ceiling fan. Because of course they had.

"Hey, Maya."

She looked up. Darius, who sat behind her in AP History, was standing there holding a plastic bag with a goldfish swimming inside it. A literal goldfish. Not the snack kind.

"Want him? I won him at the carnival but my mom'll kill me if I bring another pet home."

"You have other pets?"

"Three hamsters and a tarantula. Long story." He gestured to the empty seat across from her. "Mind if I crash? I'm hiding from Jessica."

Jessica, who had created the school's unofficial social pyramid system last year, placing herself at the apex and everyone else somewhere in the tangled mess below. Maya had landed somewhere near "exists but doesn't impact the plot."

"Same," Maya said, and Darius sat.

They spent twenty minutes discussing everything from the goldfish (which he'd tentatively named Cornelius) to why papaya tasted like soap to most people, and how the social pyramid was really just a social circle if you squinted hard enough. Darius made her laugh so hard her hat fell off, revealing the messy bun she'd been hiding under it.

"Nice hair," he said. "I mean it. It suits you."

For the first time in two years, Maya didn't immediately put her hat back on.

"Thanks."

Her phone buzzed again. Tyler's party — someone had posted a photo of people standing in a literal pyramid formation for a group shot. It looked ridiculous, staged, exhausting. Darius caught her looking and shook his head.

"I'd rather be here. With Cornelius and someone who actually knows stuff about ancient Egypt beyond 'pyramids exist.'"

Maya smiled. She'd take the goldfish and the honest conversation over the pyramid any day. Her phone could wait — some notifications were worth missing.