The Social Pyramid Scheme

Maya's first day at Northwood High felt like walking into a pyramid scheme where everyone already knew the secret handshake except her. The social hierarchy towered above the cafeteria — varsity jacket guys at the apex, then the pretty girls, then the 'normal' people, and somewhere near the bottom: the new kids who couldn't even find their locker without opening Google Maps.

She'd spent the morning guzzling some gross vitamin water her mom swore would 'boost her confidence' which, honestly, felt like the kind of thing moms said when they couldn't actually help you survive high school.

Then she saw him.

Jake. The guy with the stupid perfect hair and the smile that probably made teachers forget to assign homework. He was leaning against a bank of lockers like he owned the building, laughing at something his friends said. Maya felt her face get hot. Great. Now she was the girl staring creepily at the social pyramid's golden boy.

She started speed-walking toward her next period, basically running away from her own awkwardness, when someone grabbed her backpack strap.

'New kid?' A girl with messy curls and approximately twelve necklaces appeared beside her. 'I'm Riley. You look like you're about to cry in the hallway, which, like, been there.'

Maya blinked. 'I'm Maya. And I wasn't going to cry.'

'Sure you weren't.' Riley grinned. 'Welcome to Northwood. The social pyramid is fake btw. Jake dumped his girlfriend last week because she wouldn't let him cheat on a math test. The bear wears no clothes, if you will.'

'You know him?'

'Everyone knows Jake. His dad's the football coach. But that doesn't mean he's not sus.' Riley tilted her head. 'You gonna eat lunch alone or you wanna sit with my friends? We're weird but we're not pyramid people.'

Maya looked back at Jake, who was now aggressively showing off to some freshmen. Suddenly the social pyramid didn't look so scary anymore.

'Your friends,' Maya said. 'Do they have vitamin water recommendations? Because this stuff tastes like regret.'

Riley laughed. 'Only the good kind. C'mon, fox.' She winked. 'You've got that vibe. The one that says you're about to cause trouble.'

Maybe Northwood wouldn't be so bad after all.