Riddle of the Cafeteria Sphinx

Maya's first day at Northwood High felt like walking into a social pyramid she couldn't decode. She clutched her lunch tray—soggy **spinach** from the salad bar that looked like it had seen better days—and scanned the crowded cafeteria for somewhere to sit.

Every table seemed like its own ecosystem. The jocks, the drama kids, the ones who definitely vaped behind the gym. Maya's palms started sweating, literally leaving **palm** prints on her tray. Great. Now she was the nervous new girl with sweaty hands.

Then she saw her—the **cat** lady of table 7. Okay, not actually a cat lady, but Riley wore a black cat hoodie and had three cat keychains on her backpack. She was reading a book about Egyptian mythology, of all things.

Maya took a breath. "Is this seat taken?"

Riley looked up, assessing Maya like a living **sphinx** guarding cosmic secrets. "Depends. Can you solve riddles, or are you just another basic tourist passing through?"

"I'm Maya," she said, setting down her tragic spinach situation. "And I'm definitely not basic. I'm just... currently terrible at this high school thing."

Riley's deadpan expression cracked into a smile. "Valid. I'm Riley. Welcome to the outcast table, population: us. Also, that spinach looks like it died three weeks ago."

"I know, right?" Maya laughed, some of the tension leaking out. "So, what's with the sphinx book?"

"Obsessed with ancient riddles," Riley said, closing the book. "The sphinx asked: 'What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in evening?' Answer: humans. We change as we grow. Kinda poetic, actually."

Maya looked around the cafeteria—all these people figuring out who they were, who they wanted to be. "Yeah," she said. "Poetic."

"So," Riley slid a sketchbook across the table. "You draw? Write? Or are you secretly a demon summoned from the underworld?"

Maya grinned. "Writer. Mostly depressing poetry that would make my therapist concerned."

"Perfect." Riley flipped to a blank page. "Let's make something that's NOT terrible. Together."

And just like that, Maya's first day didn't seem so scary anymore. Sometimes the scariest places hide the best surprises—like finding your people when you least expect it.