The Social Pyramid Scheme

The neon energy drink can mocked me from across the cafeteria table. VITAMIN-enriched my ass — more like vitamin anxiety. I pushed it away, watching the seventh-period social hierarchy unfold like some ancient civilization

There they sat: The Pyramids. At the top, Jessica and her clique, perfectly positioned like a human social structure. Below them, the various layers of high school nobility. And somewhere at the bottom? That'd be me, Maya, and my collection of socially unacceptable traits

"You look like you're about to face the Sphinx's riddle," Leo said, sliding into the seat beside me. He pointed his chin toward Jessica, who was currently holding court with that devastating laugh that made everyone lean in

"More like I'm the goldfish in the bowl," I muttered. "Three-second memory span, swimming in circles, completely at the mercy of whoever decides to tap on the glass"

Leo, bless his heart, actually laughed. "Dude, you're not a goldfish. You're like... an undercover Sphinx. You've got riddles nobody's figured out yet"

I snorted so loud my crush two tables over looked up. Smooth. Really channeling inner grace here

"What riddles?" I asked. "The mystery of why I still play Pokémon Go? The enigma of my closet lesbian crush on half the varsity volleyball team? The—"

"The secret that you're actually kind of awesome," Leo interrupted, dead serious

I stared at him. The cafeteria noise faded to background static

"You bear the weight of everyone's expectations," he continued, "but you're still here. Still making jokes. Still... you. That's not nothing. That's everything"

Something in my chest loosened. Not much — just enough to breathe

"That's the weirdest pep talk I've ever received"

"I'm a weird guy," he shrugged, standing up. "But seriously, Maya? The Pyramid's just people who figured out how to look confident first. Doesn't mean they've figured out anything else"

He walked away, leaving me with my vitamin-deficient energy drink and a thought that maybe, just maybe, the real riddle wasn't about fitting into someone else's pyramid

Maybe it was about building my own

I took a sip of the terrible drink. Made a face. Yeah. Definitely time to start constructing