The Social Pyramid Scheme

Maya's **dog**, Buster, stared at her with those sad puppy eyes while she arranged her fifteenth motivational can into a perfect **pyramid** on her desk. This was it—her ticket to the popular table at lunch. At least, that's what Chloe had promised when she convinced Maya to join "Radiant Vibes," their school's newest multilevel marketing sensation.

"You're practically doing it for charity," Chloe had said, flipping her perfectly straightened hair. "Think of all the people who need better hydration."

Now Maya was out two hundred dollars and surrounded by pyramid-shaped aluminum cans filled with "artisanal" water that tasted like, well, water.

Her phone buzzed. UNKNOWN NUMBER: "I know what you did last summer."

Maya rolled her eyes. Some **spy** she was. This was definitely Jason from algebra trying to mess with her. But then another text popped up: "Chloe's only using you for the commission. Ask her about Sarah."

Sarah. The girl who transferred schools last month after everyone called her "desperate" for trying to sell everyone those weird weight-loss shakes.

Maya's stomach did that thing where it felt like someone was pulling her **cable**—the one connecting her brain to her survival instincts. She grabbed her backpack and headed to Chloe's house, Buster trotting beside her like the emotional support animal he secretly was.

Chloe's house was exactly what Maya expected: pristine, smelling like expensive candles, with parents who were never home. Chloe was Facetiming someone when Maya walked in unannounced.

"...she's so naive, it's actually kind of perfect," Chloe was saying. "Yeah, another hundred cans and I hit Diamond level. Whatever, she'll thank me later."

The **cable** connecting Maya's denial to reality finally snapped.

"So I'm just your commission check?" Maya said from the doorway.

Chloe jumped, nearly dropping her phone. "Maya! I didn't—"

"Save it." Maya grabbed her pyramid of cans from Chloe's desk. "I'm out. But hey, good luck with your pyramid scheme. Literally."

She walked home with Buster, who kept looking at her like, "Finally, human. You're not as dumb as you look." And for the first time in weeks, Maya didn't feel desperate to fit in. She felt like herself—which, as it turned out, was way better than being anyone's Diamond-level anything.