Goldfish Memory and Party Kings

The bass thumped through Leo's chest like a second heartbeat. House parties weren't really his thing—too many people, too much noise, zero places to disappear.

"You good?" Ryan asked, already half-turned toward the kitchen where the popular crew had gathered. Ryan, his supposed best friend since seventh grade, had been drifting away all semester. First it was switching lunch tables. Then it was canceling their gaming sessions for "plans." Now this.

"Yeah," Leo lied. "Just gonna get some air."

Outside on the patio, he found himself staring at a massive poster of Egyptian art on the neighbor's garage. Some girl with drawn-on wings and the body of a lion, human face, enigmatic smile frozen forever.

"The Sphinx," a voice said behind him. "Riddle-me-this bullshit from ancient times."

Leo turned. A girl with messy hair and fox-like sharp eyes sat on the railing, swinging her legs like she didn't have a care in the world. "You like riddles?"

"I like things that make sense." Leo shrugged. "What's yours?"

She hopped down, moved closer. "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, three in the evening?"

"Man," Leo said automatically. "A human throughout life. Baby to adult to old person with a cane."

"Smart." She grinned, all teeth and mischief. "I'm Maya."

Inside, someone shouted "BULLSHIT!" at whatever game was happening. Laughter erupted.

"Your friend seems different," Maya said, tilting her head toward the glass doors where Ryan was now high-fiving some junior Leo didn't recognize. "Like, he used to be cool?"

"He's still cool." Leo defended him automatically. "Just... figuring stuff out. We all are."

"Maybe." Maya studied him. "Or maybe he's got a goldfish memory. Forgets what matters the moment something newer swims by."

Ouch.

Inside, Ryan caught Leo's eye through the glass, smiled hesitantly, then turned back to his new crowd.

"Want to get out of here?" Maya asked. "There's a diner down the street. Actual conversation required."

Leo looked at his best friend disappearing into a crowd that didn't know him at all, then at this stranger who'd seen him in five minutes flat.

"Yeah," Leo said, following Maya toward the gate. "Let's bounce."