The Pyramid Scheme

The social pyramid at Northwood High had tiers clearer than my track times. Top: baseball players. Bottom: everyone else. And me? I was somewhere in the middle, running for my life to stay invisible.

That Tuesday, practice ran late—literally. Coach kept us running intervals until my lungs burned like I'd swallowed embers. Limping to the parking lot, I spotted Jordan leaning against his dad's sedan, still in his baseball uniform, cleats clicking on the pavement.

"Hey," he said, like we were actually friends now.

My stomach did that embarrassing flip thing. "Hey."

"You heading to the game Friday?"

"Maybe." I lied. I'd been to every game since September, watching from the bleachers with my best friend Chloe, who collected crushes like some people collected Pokémon cards.

Speaking of—Chloe had been acting weird all week. Distant. Secretive. I'd caught her in the library yesterday, practically hiding behind a book when I walked by. And then I saw it: her phone was out, pointed toward me.

"Are you spying on me now?" I'd asked, half-joking, half-serious.

She'd turned bright red. "No! I was just... testing my camera."

Right.

Now Jordan was smiling at me, and I should've been living my best life, but instead I felt sick. Because I knew what Chloe was doing. She'd been taking pictures of me for weeks— candid shots, embarrassing ones, ones I'd never agreed to. Posting them on her Finsta with fake captions about her "awkward friend" for laughs.

The pyramid worked like that. Someone always had to be the punchline.

"You okay?" Jordan asked.

I looked at him, really looked at him. Pretty sure he'd never had to wonder if his friends were secretly making fun of him. That's how pyramids worked: the people at the top never even saw the ones holding them up.

"I will be," I said.

Friday, I sat in the bleachers alone. The game was amazing—Jordan hit a home run that cleared the fence by twenty feet. Everyone screamed. But I was busy typing something else.

Chloe's number popped up on my screen. "Hey, where r u???"

I didn't answer. Some things are more important than staying in your place.