The Social Pyramid Scheme

Maya stared at the cafeteria map she'd drawn on her hand — a literal social pyramid, with the popular kids at the top and everyone else scattered below. As a freshman, she was practically in the basement.

"You're still doing that?" Sasha rolled her eyes, popping a piece of papaya into her mouth. "It's high school, not Game of Thrones."

"Easy for you to say," Maya muttered. "You're already dating Jason."

"Jason has the emotional depth of a goldfish," Sasha said. "And his personality is equally... slippery."

Maya laughed despite herself. That was the thing about Sasha — she was genuinely funny, not mean-girl fake funny. Which was why Maya felt guilty about what she'd done.

Yesterday, she'd finally acted on her pyramid plan. She'd gone full spy mode, following Sasha and her friends into the bathroom, listening through the stall door while they discussed their crushes. Maya had wanted intel — actionable data to help her level up socially. Instead, she'd heard something that made her stomach drop.

"She's nice, but..." Sasha's voice had carried through the metal partition. "Sometimes it feels like she's only friends with me to get closer to Jason."

Maya had frozen. Because wasn't that exactly what she'd been doing?

She'd escaped undetected, but the guilt had been eating at her all day. Even Barnaby — her ancient orange cat who judged everyone — seemed disappointed in her when she got home, meowing accusingly as she slumped onto her bed.

Now, across the cafeteria, Jason waved at her. Maya's heart did that stupid flutter thing, but something held her back. Was she really going to keep climbing this pyramid, stepping on people who actually liked her?

She looked at Sasha, who was laughing at something Maya couldn't hear. Real laughter. The kind you couldn't fake.

The pyramid on her hand suddenly looked ridiculous.

Maya stood up, walked past Jason without stopping, and sat next to Sasha.

"Want to go to the mall later?" Maya asked. "I need to buy something that's not papaya-chip flavored."

Sasha's face lit up. "Yes. A thousand times yes."

Maya scrubbed the pyramid off her hand with a napkin. Some things were worth more than being at the top.