Riddle by the Pool

Maya's iPhone buzzed against the lounge chair, third time in five minutes. Pool water glinted blue-green under the late afternoon sun, catching reflections of everyone's perfect summer bodies. Meanwhile, Maya was fully clothed, clutching her phone like a lifeline.

"You gonna get in, or just babysit that screen?" Chloe flopped onto the chair beside her, dripping wet. Her bikini top had little fox faces all over it—subtle, but Chloe wasn't exactly the subtle type.

"I'm thinking about it," Maya lied. She was actually stalking Jason's profile again. Not that she'd admit it. Especially not to Chloe, who'd called her a "total creeper" last week for liking a photo from three years ago.

But it wasn't stalking. It was research. Jason had posted something cryptic fifteen minutes ago: just an emoji of a sphinx. No caption, no context. The riddle vibe was killing her—was it about her? They'd had that one conversation in AP Bio about Egyptian mythology, but surely he didn't remember.

"You're doing it again," Chloe said, flipping onto her stomach. "Spying mode. Your eyes get all squinty."

"Am not."

"Are too. Just talk to him, Maya. He's literally right over there." Chloe gestured with her chin toward the deep end where Jason was doing laps, his arms cutting through the water with this easy rhythm that made something in Maya's chest feel tight.

The sphinx emoji had bothered her all afternoon. What did it mean? Was he testing her? Was she overthinking everything because that's what she did—overthink, freeze up, watch from the sidelines while everyone else actually lived their lives?

Her phone vibrated again. A DM from Jason: "The riddle's easier from inside the pool."

Maya stared at the screen until it went dark. Then she stood up, kicked off her flip-flops, and dove in.

The water shocked her lungs cold. When she surfaced, Jason was treading water nearby, grinning. "Took you long enough."

"What's the riddle?" she asked, shivering.

"No riddle," he said. "Just wanted to see if you'd actually get in the pool. You've been watching me all week."

Heat crept up her neck. "I haven't been—"

"It's cool," he said. "I've been watching you too."