The Pyramid Scheme

Marcus stood outside Jason's house, hands sweating, heart doing that weird fluttery thing it always did before parties. Inside, the bass vibrated through the door. He could practically see the social pyramid inside: Jason and the varsity crew at the apex, exchange students somewhere in the middle, and him clinging to the base like a desperate little pyramid stone.

"You coming in or what?" Marcus's bestie Skylar nudged him. "You've been standing here staring at the door for five minutes. It's weird, bro."

Marcus pulled the vitamin gummy out of his pocket—his mom insisted they'd help with "stress" during finals week—and shoved it in his mouth. Orange flavor, obviously. Because nothing screamed cool like eating gummy vitamins at a high school party.

"I'm good," Marcus lied.

Inside, the party was already in full swing. Someone had set up a beer **pyramid** in the kitchen that was already three cans deep. Marcus grabbed a soda and tried to look casual, which he knew meant looking like he was trying really hard to look casual.

Then he saw her. Lena. The transfer student from Germany who sat behind him in AP Chem, who always wore that same oversized **orange** hoodie and smelled like vanilla and old books. She was curled up on the couch with Jason's cat—that fluffy Maine coon that acted like it owned the place.

Marcus froze. Not literally, but that specific kind of emotional paralysis where your brain goes **lightning**-quick through approximately twelve disaster scenarios.

"Hey," Skylar whispered, practically vibrating with secondhand embarrassment. "She's literally looking at you right now."

Marcus turned. Lena was looking at him, actually. She smiled, just a little, and patted the couch beside her.

"Nice shirt," she said when he awkwardly sat down. The cat—Barnaby, apparently—decided Marcus's lap was acceptable and collapsed there like a furry, judgmental loaf.

"Thanks," Marcus managed. "Nice... cat?" Smooth. Real smooth.

Lena laughed, and it was this warm, genuine sound that made something loosen in Marcus's chest. They talked about chemistry and music and how weird American high school parties were. The pyramid dissolved. The vitamin gummy kicked in—placebo or not, he didn't care.

"You know," Lena said, "I was gonna bail early. But this is... actually okay."

"Yeah," Marcus said, and for the first time all night, he meant it. "It actually is."

Outside, actual lightning cracked across the sky. But inside, everything felt electric in a completely different way.