The Pyramid Scheme of Friendship

My stupid **hat** kept sliding over my eyes as I sprinted toward the finish line, sweat trickling down my back like tiny nervous insects. Cross-country practice at Ridgewood High was basically my personal hell, but Coach Martinez had made it clear: if I wanted a letter on my jacket, I'd be **running** till my lungs burned.

'Don't die on me, rookie!' Maya called from ahead, her effortless ponytail swinging like she was gliding instead of pounding gravel at mile seven. Maya: varsity star, Instagram aesthetic queen, and somehow my lab partner who actually tolerated my existence. Friend was a strong word, but she'd let me copy her chemistry notes twice, which basically counted.

'I'm not dying,' I wheezed, regretting every life choice that led to this moment. 'I'm just... dramatically existing.'

She laughed, which made me feel weirdly accomplished. My phone buzzed in my pocket—probably my mom asking if I'd applied to colleges yet, or Jason from fourth period inviting me to another pyramid scheme meeting. No joke. Jason had gotten involved with some 'multi-level marketing' thing and kept trying to recruit everyone. 'Financial freedom by sixteen!' his texts would scream. 'Build your **pyramid** of success!'

I'd laughed at first. Who wouldn't? But then I noticed the social pyramids everywhere—the varsity kids at the top, the regulars in the middle, the band kids and theater geeks forming their own smaller pyramids below. And somewhere, floating awkwardly between layers, there was me.

'You okay?' Maya had slowed down, falling back to match my pace. 'You got all quiet.'

'Just thinking about pyramids,' I admitted, immediately regretting everything.

'Like, the ancient structures? Or the creepy schemes Jason keeps texting everyone about?'

'Both? Neither? I don't know.' We reached the water fountain, and I practically drowned myself trying to hydrate. 'Sometimes I feel like everyone's building something and I'm just... watching.'

Maya studied me, tilting her head. 'You know pyramids took thousands of people decades to build, right? They weren't made by one person doing everything alone.'

'So...'

'So stop trying to build your pyramid by yourself.' She nudged my shoulder. 'That's what friends are for. Even the ones who only share chemistry notes.'

Something in my chest loosened. 'Are we... you know...'

'Friends?' Maya grinned. 'Been friends since you made that terrible pun about covalent bonds in September, loser. You're just too busy overthinking to notice.'

My hat slid over my eyes again, but this time I didn't fix it immediately. Because for the first time in forever, the view from beneath the brim didn't seem so lonely after all.