Orange Soda & The Sphinx

My palms were sweating. Like, actually dripping wet. I'd been gripping this red Solo cup for twenty minutes at Tyler's party, convinced if I let go, I'd float away like a helium balloon.

"You good?" Tyler appeared beside me, face flushed. "You look like you're about to puke."

"I'm good," I lied. "Just... vibing."

He snorted. "You're not vibing, bro. You're lurking."

Fair. I was lurking. I was fifteen, invisible by design, and this was my first actual high school party. The kind with music that rattled your teeth and people grinding in ways that made my face burn.

Then I saw her.

She was perched on the kitchen counter like a cat, watching everyone with these sphinx eyes that saw straight through all the bull. Dark hair, leather jacket, holding an orange soda like it was a throne. She wasn't dancing or pretending to have fun. She was just... observing. Like she knew something the rest of us didn't.

"That's Maya," Tyler said, following my gaze. "She's in our art class. Never talks, but her stuff slaps. She drew this mural last year that literally made Ms. Peterson cry."

I couldn't stop staring. She caught me looking and raised an eyebrow, sphinx-like. Challenging.

My heart hammered. I took a step toward her, then froze. What would I even say? Hey, you look like you hate this as much as I do? Cool orange soda?

I chickened out. Slipped outside to the backyard where Tyler's younger sister was feeding stray cats. There were three of them, weaving around her legs like they owned her.

"This one's Sphinx," she said, pointing to a hairless cat wrapped in a tiny sweater. "Mom says she's ugly but I think she's majestic."

Sphinx.

I thought of the girl inside. How she'd looked at me like I was a puzzle she could solve. How for a second, I hadn't felt invisible.

My palms weren't sweating anymore.

I went back in. Found her still on the counter, now alone.

"Hey," I said, voice cracking. "I like your orange soda."

She smiled. Just a little. But it was enough.

"Want one?"

And just like that, I wasn't lurking anymore. I was a person at a party, talking to a girl with sphinx eyes who saw me. Really saw me.

My palms were sweating again. But this time, I didn't mind.