The Pyramid Scheme palm Reader

The sweat in my palm was making the baseball grip slip. Again.

"You're gripping it too tight, Leo," Marcus yelled from the mound, flipping his cap backward. "Loosen up or you'll throw it into the parking lot again."

I wiped my sweaty palm on my jeans, adjusted my hat, and tried to focus. This was supposed to be the summer that changed everything. The summer I made varsity, the summer I finally asked Jasmine to the movies, the summer I stopped being just "that quiet kid who sketches in his notebook during lunch."

Instead, I was stuck at baseball practice, missing every catch, and secretly reading about pyramid schemes on my phone during water breaks.

Yeah, pyramid schemes. Don't ask.

My cousin Ray had texted me at 3 AM about this "guaranteed" opportunity—all I had to do was sell these "energy bracelets" to five friends, who'd sell to five friends, who'd sell to five friends... boom, infinite money. Ray said he'd already made three grand. Ray also said he'd paid back his mom for that "borrowed" car in 2019.

But I was desperate. Baseball camp cost money. Asking my parents wasn't happening. And Jasmine had mentioned wanting to go to that new waterpark that opened downtown, and I'd casually said, "Yeah, we should go sometime," which now meant I needed, like, eighty dollars by Saturday.

"Leo! You coming or what?" Marcus waved his glove at me.

I jogged over to the dugout where the team was cooling down. That's when I saw Jasmine sitting in the bleachers, watching. My heart did that thing where it forgets how to beat correctly.

"Hey," she said, sliding down the railing. "You almost had that last catch."

"Almost," I muttered, staring at my cleats. "Hey, so about this weekend..."

"The waterpark?" She grinned. "My treat. I've been saving up from my lifeguard gig."

I blinked. "Wait, really?"

"Unless you're too cool to let a girl pay," she teased, nudging my shoulder with her fist.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean—that'd be awesome, actually." I felt my face burning.

"Cool. Pick you up at ten?" She hopped off the bleachers and headed toward the parking lot.

I watched her go, then pulled out my phone. Ray had sent another message: ⚠️ UPGRADE YOUR TIER NOW ⚠️ JUST $299 FOR DIAMOND STATUS.

I laughed out loud. Marcus looked at me like I'd lost it.

"You good, man?"

"Yeah," I said, blocking Ray's number. "I'm good."

My palm didn't feel so sweaty anymore. And somehow, the baseball in my hand felt a little lighter, too. Maybe this summer wouldn't be so bad after all.