The Pyramid Scheme of Us

Maya's legs burned as she kept running, third lap around the track, lungs screaming in rhythm with her sneakers slapping the rubber. Coach Miller's voice echoed somewhere behind her—'push yourself, Chen!'—but honestly? She was running from something way worse than wind sprints.

Across the field, the cafeteria tables sat empty, but in Maya's mind, the social pyramid was crystal clear. At the apex: Jade and the varsity cheer squad. One tier down: the 'cool' kids who somehow made overalls look fashionable. And somewhere near the bottom? Maya, the girl who'd accidentally worn her shirt inside out to homeroom last week.

No thanks.

'Yo, you trying out for track or trying to escape your problems?'

Maya slowed to a jog, nearly tripping over her own feet. Leo—last year's science lab partner, current suspect in the Great Gummy Bear Heist of sophomore year—leaned against the chain-link fence, grinning like he knew something she didn't.

'Both,' Maya admitted, which was weird because she never admitted anything to anyone. 'What are you doing here?'

'Watching you run in circles. It's mesmerizing.' He tossed her a water bottle. 'Also, I need a friend for the history project, and you're the only person who didn't make fun of my presentation on medieval dental hygiene.'

Maya caught the bottle. 'That was genuinely fascinating, though.'

'Exactly.' Leo's grin softened. 'So? Partners?'

The thing about social pyramids is they only work if everyone agrees to stay in their assigned tiers. But Maya was tired of tiers. Tired of Jade's subtle eye rolls whenever Maya spoke in class. Tired of watching her words, her outfit choices, her everything.

'Sure,' Maya said. 'But I'm doing the poster. My medieval typography game is strong.'

'Deal.' Leo pushed off the fence. 'Also, Jade and her pyramid can kick rocks. Nobody rocks inside-out shirts like you do.'

Maya laughed so hard she almost choked on her water. And for the first time all semester, she wasn't running away anymore—just running toward something new.