The Pyramid Scheme

Maya's iphone buzzed for the fiftieth time that hour. Another notification from the group chat.

"Y'all, this Viral Vibe challenge is legit," Tasha typed. "My cousin's friend made $500 last week. All we gotta do is get three people to sign up under us."

Pyramid scheme. Maya's mom had warned her about these things. But this was different, right? This was TikTok-famous, not some shady Craigslist thing.

Maya's golden retriever, Buster, nudged her hand with his wet nose, demanding belly rubs. He didn't care about follower counts or whether Maya was "relevant" at North Valley High. He just wanted scratches and maybe a piece of the homework she was ignoring.

"I'm in," Maya typed back, despite the knot in her stomach. "Lowkey need money for Homecoming anyway."

Her screen lit up with fire emojis and "Yesss queen" responses. But the doubt kept creeping in. What if this was actually a pyramid scheme? What if she ended up roping her friends into something sketchy just to make quick cash?

Buster whined, resting his chin on her knee. His brown eyes held more wisdom than any viral post ever could.

"What do you think, boy?" Maya scratched behind his ears. "Should I do it?"

Buster sneezed.

Maya laughed. "That's a no, then?"

She stared at her iphone screen, at the promise of easy money and social status that felt just out of reach. Then she looked at Buster, who loved her whether she had 500 followers or five.

"Actually," Maya typed into the chat, "I'm gonna pass. This screams pyramid scheme."

The messages stopped. For a whole minute, her screen stayed dark.

Then: "lol fair" "no cap you right" "I was lowkey scared to say something"

Maya exhaled, tension she hadn't realized was building finally releasing. Buster rolled onto his back, all four paws in the air, like he knew something she didn't.

"Good boy," she whispered. "You're the only one who keeps it real."

Her iphone buzzed one more time. Not from the group chat, but from her grandma. A real, honest-to-goodness phone call.

Maya answered, and for the first time all day, she didn't check her follower count once.