The Pyramid Scheme of Friday Night

Maya's golden retriever, Barnaby, nosed her hand away from her phone for the third time. She sighed, scratching behind his ears. "You're the only friend who doesn't expect me to be someone I'm not, buddy."

Her phone buzzed again. Another group chat blowup about Jessica's party tonight. The social pyramid of sophomore year had placed Jessica firmly at the top, and everyone else was either climbing or crushing. Maya was usually the one crushing—specifically, under the weight of her own anxiety.

"Just come," Kai had texted. "It'll be chill."

Famous last words.

By 10 PM, Maya stood in Jessica's basement, holding a lukewarm soda like it was a grenade. The cable TV glitched periodically, casting the room in weird strobe lights that matched her mounting panic. Someone had put on a zombie marathon, which felt metaphorically appropriate.

"You look like you've seen one too many undead," a voice said.

Maya jumped. It was Leo—the quiet kid from her English class who sat in the back and drew in his notebook. He held a bowl of chips like a shield.

"I'm just... not good at this," she admitted, gesturing vaguely at the cluster of people taking selfies in the corner.

"The pyramid scheme of high school social dynamics?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, same. I only came because my mom said I needed to 'put myself out there.'"

Maya snorted. "My therapist gave me the same advice."

They ended up on the back porch, Barnaby somehow having followed her there (she'd never figured out how he got out, but she wasn't complaining). The dog curled between them like a fuzzy mediator.

"So," Leo said, "you ever think about how zombies are just doing what they're programmed to do, but everyone acts like it's their fault?"

Maya stared at him. "That's... weirdly deep."

"I have a lot of time to think when I'm hiding in bathrooms at parties."

They sat there until the cable TV glitched for the final time, the zombie marathon fading into static. For the first time in forever, Maya didn't feel like she was performing. She didn't feel like she was climbing, or crushing, or stuck somewhere in the middle.

"Hey," Leo said as the party wound down. "My friend group is doing a board game thing next weekend. Very low stakes. No pyramids, living or dead."

Maya smiled, genuinely. "I think Barnaby would approve."