The Vitamin Pyramid Scheme

Maya stared at the glossy flyer across the cafeteria table. Jasmine, the junior who somehow got perfect attendance despite skipping every Friday, was pitching something called "GlowUp Supreme"—basically overpriced hair gummies packaged like they were blessed by the Kardashians.

"It's a pyramid scheme," Maya said, poking at her sad-looking tater tots. "Literally. You said I'd be under you, and whoever I recruit goes under me. That's the definition."

Jasmine flipped her perfect curls—Maya noticed they'd gotten noticeably shinier since last month. "It's called *multi-level marketing*, and check your attitude. Some of us are building generational wealth."

Generational wealth from selling vitamin supplements that smelled like artificial strawberry and desperation. But Maya's frizz had been spiraling lately, and the humidity at school was absolutely no joke. Plus, Jasmine had dropped fifty bucks on Sephora yesterday in cash.

"Whatever." Maya grabbed the pen. "Sign me up. But I'm keeping my day job."

"You don't have a day job," Jasmine pointed out.

Maya ignored her.

Two weeks later, Maya was officially the worst multi-level marketer in history. She'd sold exactly two bottles—one to her grandma (out of pity) and one to herself (out of obligation). The vitamins sat on her desk like a judgmental pyramid of bad decisions.

The real problem wasn't the money, though. It was how she'd started seeing people differently. Every conversation felt like a potential sale. Her friend group had become a pyramid she was desperately trying to climb, and she hated how much she wanted to reach the top.

"Your hair looks great," Sarah told her in the bathroom one morning. "Did those gummies actually work?"

Maya met her own reflection in the mirror. Her curls were different—softer, maybe. Or maybe she was just looking harder. The real transformation wasn't in her hair anyway. It was in realizing she'd rather be at the bottom of something real than the top of something fake.

"Honestly?" Maya dumped the remaining gummies into the trash. "I think I'm good."