Orange Hair, Sphinx Eyes

Maya stared at her reflection, fingers tangling in her newly dyed orange hair. First high school party tonight, and she'd already committed to looking like a traffic cone. "Whatever," she muttered. "Be bold, right?"

The house thumped with bass she could feel in her teeth. She hovered near the snack table, clutching a red Solo cup like a lifeline. Everyone else seemed to know exactly how to stand, what to say, when to laugh. Maya felt like she'd missed the memo on basic human functioning.

"You're blocking the Cheetos."

Maya jumped. A girl leaned against the wall, black cat-eye liner sharp enough to cut glass. People called her Cat—short for Catherine, but also because she moved like she had nine lives and secrets to spare.

"Sorry," Maya stammered.

Cat's eyes narrowed, considering. "That color. Did your hair dye fight you, or did you lose a bet?"

"I wanted to change things up."

"Huh." Cat tilted her head. "You know what the sphinx asked, right? What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, three in the evening?"

"Um... people? We crawl, then walk, then use canes?"

Cat's lip twitched. "Most people just guess 'man' and move on. You explained it. Interesting." She pushed off the wall. "Come on. Standing near chips all night isn't a vibe."

Cat towed her through the party, introducing her with deliberately weird descriptions. "This is Maya. She'll explain sphinx riddles if you ask nicely. Don't touch her hair, she's sensitive about it."

By midnight, Maya was laughing so hard her sides hurt. Her orange hair wasn't a mistake—it was a conversation starter. The sphinx thing became their inside joke, Cat's way of vetting people. If they didn't get the riddle, they weren't worth knowing.

"You're actually pretty cool," Cat said as they sat on the back porch, watching the sunrise paint the sky.

Maya's phone buzzed—her mom, wondering where she was. But for the first time, she wasn't in a hurry to leave.

"Yeah," she said, grinning into the dawn. "I'm starting to think so too."