The Social Pyramid Scheme

I felt like a total zombie walking into homeroom. Three hours of sleep does that to you, especially when your **dog** decided 2 AM was the perfect time to bark at absolutely nothing.

"You look rough," said Maya, sliding into the desk beside me. Maya was technically my **friend**, but lately she'd been spending more time with the pyramid scheme — also known as Madison and her clique of perfectly curated human beings.

"Thanks," I muttered. "You look... awake. How is that possible?"

"I **spy** with my little eye someone who hasn't discovered coffee yet." She grinned, then her expression shifted. "Hey, so, Madison's having people over Friday. You should come."

The invitation caught me off guard. For months, I'd been watching from the edges while Maya climbed the social **pyramid**, each tier bringing new friends, new inside jokes, new reasons to cancel plans with me. Now she was finally reaching back down?

"I don't know," I said. "Last time I went to one of those things, I spent two hours discussing everyone's birth charts while Madison filmed it for her 'spontaneous' TikTok."

"This time's different," Maya promised. "No cameras. Just people. Madison's actually been asking about you. She thinks you're... interesting."

Interesting. The word that keeps you at arm's length while pretending to pull you in.

Friday came, and so did I, sporting my signature 'I don't care but I care just enough' hoodie. Madison's house smelled like expensive candles and something baking — cookies, probably, because she was that kind of person.

The pyramid assembled in her living room: Madison at the center, naturally, with tiered seating radiating outward like a carefully engineered solar system. I found myself on a beanbag chair, approximately Jupiter's distance from the sun.

Maya appeared with a plate of cookies, sitting cross-legged beside me. "Okay, quick warning — Madison's doing this thing where we all share our deepest insecurities. It's supposed to be bonding."

"Hard pass," I said immediately.

"No, seriously, it's actually kind of nice. I told them about how I feel like everyone's always watching me, waiting for me to mess up." She leaned closer. "And then Madison told us she feels like a fraud most of the time. Like, her whole life is just content."

I blinked. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah. It was weirdly... real." She bit her lip. "That's why I wanted you here. You don't treat her like she's the sun. You just treat her like a person. That's rare."

Across the room, Madison looked up from her phone and caught my eye. For a second, the carefully constructed image slipped, and she just looked tired.

"Okay," I said. "But if anyone asks me about my birth chart, I'm leaving."

Maya laughed. "Deal. Also, my dog's coming over next weekend. You should come too. Actual friends, no social pyramids."

"Sounds perfect," I said, and for the first time in months, I actually believed it.