Riddle at the Rec Center

The pool water shimmered like crushed diamonds under the fluorescent lights, but Maya's stomach felt like it was doing backflips worse than any dive she'd ever attempted. Junior year was supposed to be her year – finally getting noticed by Jake, the senior with the smile that could solve global warming, and making varsity swim team. Instead, she was stuck playing sphinx guard at the community center's lame Egypt-themed summer dance.

"You're doing it again," whispered Sam, her best friend since kindergarten, adjusting their glittery party hat. "That thing where you stare at Jake like you're conducting a scientific study."

Maya's face burned. "I am not! And I'm definitely not spying on him from behind this papier-mâché sphinx."

"Oh really? Because you've been 'monitoring the refreshment table' for twenty minutes straight."

Before Maya could defend her highly sophisticated crush-monitoring system, Jake walked past with his friends. Her heart launched into full-on sprint mode, running laps in her chest. This was it – her chance to finally talk to him after two years of perfecting the art of accidental hallway collisions.

But then she saw it: Jake leaned in and kissed someone. Not just someone – Chloe, the sophomore who'd made varsity when Maya hadn't. The water in Maya's eyes had nothing to do with chlorine.

She bolted, running past the sphinx, past the DJs, out the double doors into the night. The air was cool against her burning skin. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why couldn't she just be normal like the people who actually enjoyed these things?

Sam caught up, panting. "Wait. You okay?"

Maya wiped her eyes, embarrassed. "Yeah. Just realized something."

"What?"

"That I've been so focused on what I thought I wanted, I didn't notice what I actually needed." She looked at Sam, really looked at them – the person who'd always been there, the one who made every boring dance bearable. "Maybe I've been asking the wrong questions. Like a sphinx with no riddle."

Sam smiled, and something clicked – not loudly, not dramatically, but solid and real. "Want to get food? There's that taco truck that's always open late."

"Always," Maya said, and for the first time all night, her heart stopped running and started beating for something real.