Poolside Riddle

The chlorine-heavy **water** stung my eyes as I resurfaced, gasping. Another lap down. Another meaningless afternoon at the community pool where I'd landed a summer job purely because my mom's friend knew the manager.

"Yo Marcus, you good?" called Ty, leaning against the lifeguard stand with that annoying casual confidence. "You look like you're drowning out there."

"I'm fine," I muttered, pulling myself onto the concrete. "Just... training."

Training for what, I had no idea. College swimming? I wasn't even on the team. I just needed something to tell people when they asked what I was doing with my summer. Anything sounded better than "guarding a pool I'm not even certified to guard" while everyone else had internships or was traveling Europe or whatever.

My phone buzzed. Another wellness notification from my mom: *Don't forget your **vitamin** D! Too much indoor time!* I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. The woman literally tracked my supplement intake through some family health app she'd forced everyone to install.

"What's that face?" Ty asked, dropping down beside me. His dreadlocks dripped water onto my leg.

"My mom's obsessed with my vitamin intake. She thinks I'm deficient in everything."

"Classic helicopter parent energy," Ty laughed, then turned serious. "Hey, there's actually something I wanted to ask you."

My stomach did that thing it always did when conversations got real. "Yeah?"

"There's this girl..." He hesitated. "She's into ancient history stuff. Like, really into it. She challenged me to this riddle game yesterday and I totally flopped. She called me her personal **sphinx** because apparently I'm terrible at solving anything." He shook his head. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd help me prepare? You're always reading those philosophy books during breaks."

I stared at him. Ty Jackson, the guy who'd been confidently walking through life since sixth grade, wanted MY help?

"Wait," I said slowly. "The girl called you a sphinx because you COULDN'T solve riddles? That's backwards. The sphinx is the one who GIVES the riddles."

"That's what I said!" Ty grinned. "See? This is why I need you. She's coming back tomorrow. You in?"

Something about the way he asked—not assuming, just hoping—made my chest feel lighter than it had all summer.

"Yeah," I found myself saying. "Yeah, I'm in."

Later, floating on my back as the sun painted the sky pink and orange, I realized something: I still didn't know what I was doing with my life, still had no grand plan for college or beyond. But for the first time all summer, I didn't feel like I was drowning in the uncertainty.

Sometimes you don't need to have all the answers. Sometimes you just need someone to throw you a lifeline and ask for help.

And maybe, just maybe, that was enough for now.