Chlorine and Conundrums

The pool party was already lit when Maya arrived, chlorine stinging her nose as she hovered near the snack table. She'd spent the entire week forcing down **spinach** smoothies because her mom swore they'd make her skin glow—though so far, the only thing glowing was her embarrassment when she got them stuck in her braces.

"Yo, Maya!" Leo waved from the deep end, droplets of **water** flying everywhere as he shook out his curly hair. "Get in here! The water's perfect!"

Maya clutched her phone tighter. Her hands were pruning and she hadn't even touched the pool yet. Social situations were basically her villain origin story, and this one had all the elements: popular kids, bathing suits, and the looming specter of having to make conversation while trying not to look like a total dweeb.

Then she saw him.

He was sitting alone on the edge of the hot tub, scrolling through his phone with an intensity that suggested he was either reading something incredibly important or pretending to so no one would talk to him. Dark hair, mysterious vibe, the kind of expression that said he knew secrets about the universe.

"That's Elijah," Leo appeared beside her, dripping wet. "Total **sphinx**, dude. No one's gotten more than three words out of him all semester."

A sphinx. Maya's brain did that thing where it made everything into a metaphor—riddles and mysteries and maybe if she solved the puzzle, she'd get the treasure. Or maybe she'd just get rejected and have to transfer schools. Both were valid possibilities.

Her mom's voice echoed in her head: "Every challenge is just a **vitamin** for your confidence, sweetie! You don't grow without swallowing things that taste weird at first."

Maya rolled her eyes at the memory but also kind of hated that her mom was right.

So she did it. She marched over to the sphinx by the hot tub, her heart doing gymnastics in her chest, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind:

"So, are you gonna sit there all mysteriously or are you gonna actually swim?"

Elijah looked up, and for a terrible three seconds, Maya contemplated faking her own death. But then his mouth quirked up at the corner.

"I'm contemplating the existential nature of pool parties," he said, sliding off the edge and into the **water** with a graceful splash. "But I guess I could be persuaded."

Maya's stomach did something that felt suspiciously like hope. "You contemplate a lot?"

"Only when there's free pizza," Elijah deadpanned, and then grinned—actually grinned—and Maya's previously nonexistent flirtation skills abruptly downloaded into her brain.

"Maya," she said.

"Elijah. Want to get in the pool before Leo tries to force us into a chicken fight?"

"Absolutely not," she said, and cannonballed in wearing her favorite oversized T-shirt over her swimsuit because priorities.

The chlorine stung her eyes, but Maya didn't care. She'd solved the riddle, and the sphinx wasn't so mysterious after all. Just a person who maybe needed someone to be brave first.