The Pyramid Scheme

Maya's older brother Jordan had dropped another one of his wisdom bombs at dinner: 'High school is just a social pyramid, Maya. You're either climbing it or getting buried under it.' Easy for him to say—he'd graduated as a legend, the guy who'd somehow convinced half the junior class to join his completely fake 'energy wellness' club and buy his gross-tasting vitamin supplements that were literally just crushed-up Smarties.

Now Maya was sitting on her bedroom floor, untangling a mess of charging cables while her best friend Lily video-called her from somewhere way too fancy. Lily was at Taylor's party—the party everyone was at except Maya.

'So,' Lily said, lowering her voice conspiratorially. 'Jordan is here.' She panned the camera around. 'And he's wearing that ridiculous chain again.'

The cable in Maya's hand suddenly made sense—Jordan's prized Cuban link, the one he'd 'lost' two weeks ago. She'd found it tangled in her charger but hadn't said anything because, honestly, he kind of deserved it.

'Maya, you still there?'

'Yeah,' she said slowly. 'Hey, Lil, can you hear me okay?'

'Not really, you're cutting out. I think Taylor's WiFi is trash. Anyway, Jordan's over there by the speakers, totally flexing—'

'Maybe switch to data?' Maya suggested, already moving toward her window. The Thompsons' house was three down, all glowing windows and thumping bass and social impossibility. But the cable in her hand felt like something else now—a choice.

'Anyway,' Lily continued, 'Brayden was asking about you. He wants to—'

Outside, lightning cracked the sky in half, sudden and fierce. The whole block went dark. Party over.

'NO!' Lily's voice shrieked through Maya's phone before cutting out completely.

Maya sat there in the darkness, Jordan's heavy silver chain tangled around her fingers like some kind of spy gadget from a movie where the hero makes all the right moves. She could walk it over tomorrow. Look cool. Casual. Or she could wait.

Her phone lit up with a text from Lily: 'ur brother is CONVINCED the power company is out to get him lmao'

Maya laughed, setting the chain on her desk. Maybe tomorrow she'd give it back. Maybe she wouldn't. The social pyramid could wait—she was busy building her own rules.