The Social Pyramid Scheme

Maya clutched her **iphone** like a lifeline, thumb hovering over TikTok as she stood at the edge of Chloe's backyard oasis. The sophomore class social **pyramid** stretched before her—Chloe and her clique floating in the pool on inflatable unicorns, while everyone else clustered awkwardly around the snacks. Maya was definitely somewhere near the bottom.

"Hey, you gonna swim or just stand there looking cool?"

Maya jumped. Liam stood behind her, dripping wet, hair plastered to his forehead. He was the new kid, somehow friends with everyone despite being here only two weeks. He gestured at the **swimming** pool where a game of chicken fight was devolving into chaos.

"I'm good," Maya said, though her **palm** sweated against her phone case. "Just... taking it all in."

"Boring." Liam grinned, and something in her chest did that annoying flutter thing. "Wanna meet Barnaby? He's way more interesting than this party."

He led her around the side of the house to a covered patio where an orange tabby **cat** was sprawled on a lounge chair, completely unbothered by the noise.

"Chloe's **cat**," Liam explained, scratching behind Barnaby's ears. "He's got the right idea. Social interaction is overrated."

Maya laughed, surprising herself. "I thought you were, like, Mr. Popular."

"Nah. Just good at faking it." Liam dropped his voice. "Honestly? These things make me wanna crawl under a rock. I only came because my mom said I 'need to put myself out there.'"

The confession hung between them as the distant screams and splashes continued. Maya's grip on her phone loosened.

"Wanna just... hang out here?" she asked. "We could make fun of everyone from a safe distance."

Liam's smile was genuine this time. "Best idea I've heard all night."

As Barnaby purred between them, Maya's social anxiety didn't magically disappear. But somehow, sitting on the edge of a patio with a boy who got it, the pyramid didn't seem so steep anymore.