The Pyramid Party

Maya smoothed down her fox hoodie—the one with the ears that her crush, Jordan, had definitely noticed her wearing twice this week. She took a deep breath and pushed through the door to Samantha's house. The pyramid of red solo cups on the kitchen counter was already wobbling, and it was only nine.

"Hey! You made it!" Samantha yelled over the bass-thumping music. "Try this spinach dip, it's actually fire."

Maya grabbed a chip, trying to look casual. She'd been working up to this moment for weeks: talking to Jordan, really talking, not just liking their Instagram stories from three days ago.

And there Jordan was, by the back door, with that effortless cool that made Maya's stomach do somersaults. They were talking to Alex, whose cat Tuna was somehow roaming the party like she owned the place.

"Nice hoodie," Jordan said as Maya approached. "The ears are cute."

Her face burned. She'd worn it ironically. Sort of. Mostly because she'd panicked about her outfit seven times before settling on familiar.

"Thanks," she managed, reaching for her water bottle. But her hands were sweating, and suddenly—

The bottle slipped. Water splashed everywhere, all over Jordan's shoes.

The music seemed to pause. Jordan looked down. Maya's life flashed before her eyes, specifically the part where she became a legend for all the wrong reasons.

"Oh my god, I am SO sorry," Maya stammered, grabbing napkins.

Jordan laughed. Not the mean laugh. The genuine one. "Chill, it's just water. Besides, Tuna was about to attack my ankles anyway."

The orange cat chose that moment to weave through Maya's legs, purring like a motor. Jordan crouched down to pet her, then looked up at Maya with those annoyingly perfect eyes.

"Hey, wanna help me clean this up? Then maybe we could get some of that spinach dip everyone's talking about?"

Maya's pulse did something illegal. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

Sometimes the most embarrassing moments became the best ones. And maybe, just maybe, she didn't need to climb the social pyramid. Maybe she could just exist in it, fox hoodie and all.