The Wellness Pyramid

Maya clutched her iPhone like a lifeline, the familiar weight grounding her in the chaos of Taylor's house party. Everyone seemed to belong here—except her. She'd been nursing the same plastic **water** bottle for two hours, a transparent shield that said "I'm fine, I'm just hydrating" while everyone else played drinking games with red Solo cups.

The battery icon blinked red at 8%. "You have a **cable**?" she whispered to Cameron, the cute junior from her biology class. His confused shrug made her stomach do that annoying fluttery thing. Of course he didn't have an iPhone charger. Nobody carried those anymore. She was literally the last person on earth who hadn't switched to wireless everything.

"Hey!" A sophomore appeared at her elbow, way too excited for 11 PM on a Friday. "You interested in a wellness opportunity?" The girl's eyes glowed with cultish enthusiasm as she pulled out a glossy brochure. "It's this new **vitamin** supplement pack, totally organic, life-changing stuff."

Maya's friend Chloe had dragged her to one of these "wellness presentations" last month. The whole thing smelled like essential oils and desperation. "My sister's already making two grand a month," the sophomore continued, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "It's not a pyramid scheme. It's... multi-level marketing. You just recruit three people, they recruit three people—"

"That's literally a **pyramid** scheme," Maya said, then immediately regretted it. The sophomore's face fell, and Maya felt that familiar wave of social awkwardness crash over her. Why couldn't she just nod and smile like normal people?

But then Cameron appeared beside her, grinning. "Wait, are you talking about that wellness thing? My cousin got sucked into that last year. Lost like three hundred bucks."

The sophomore muttered something about missing someone and vanished. Cameron bumped Maya's shoulder. "You're weird."

Maya's heart dropped. But then he smiled—actually smiled—and her phone battery could go to hell for all she cared. "Weirdest person here. And you saved me from signing up for a pyramid scheme, so... thanks."

He held up a tangled white cord. "Also, I found your cable behind the couch."

Maya felt something shift in her chest, lighter and brighter than any vitamin supplement could promise. Maybe tonight wasn't a total disaster after all.