The Real Friend Algorithm

Marcus's social life was basically a pyramid scheme—start at the bottom, claw your way up by accumulating the right friends, the right posts, the right aesthetic. His iPhone battery drained faster than his confidence, constantly refreshing to see who'd liked his sunset picture.

"Bro, you good?" Jordan asked, not looking up from his own screen.

"Yeah," Marcus lied. He wasn't good. He was exhausted by the performance.

Then came the day Marcus found himself running—actually running—away from everything. Track practice had ended, but he kept going, legs pumping, lungs burning, until he collapsed behind the old gym building. That's where he found the cat.

Not a cute, Instagram-worthy cat. A scrawny, one-eared street cat with attitude.

"You hiding too?" Marcus whispered.

"She always does that," a voice said behind him. Leo—the quiet kid who sat alone at lunch, the one everyone said was weird. "Her name's Pyramid."

"Pyramid?"

" triangular markings on her back. Plus she's basically the queen of this territory." Leo sat down, not too close, not too far. "You're fast."

"I'm... running away."

"From what?"

Marcus hesitated, then spilled everything—the pressure, the fake friends, the exhausting game of likes and followers. Leo listened, actually listened, like Marcus was worth hearing.

"I started leaving my phone at home on weekends," Leo said. "Best decision ever. Pyramid's better company anyway."

Something clicked. Marcus realized he'd been climbing the wrong pyramid—building connections on algorithms instead of actual conversations.

"Want to run again tomorrow?" Marcus asked.

Leo smiled. "Only if you're okay hanging out with the cat guy."

"Honestly?" Marcus stood up, brushing dirt off his shorts. "That sounds perfect."

His phone buzzed in his pocket—probably another notification demanding his attention. Marcus left it there. For once, the real world was way more interesting than the digital one.