Riddle of the Goldfish

Maya's hair was supposed to be the thing. The chop. The statement. Instead, she stood in front of her bathroom mirror, staring at a jagged disaster that looked like a lawnmower accident.

"What did you DO?" Her little brother Leo appeared in the doorway, actual goldfish crackers scattered on his shirt. "It looks like a sphinx got into a fight with a lawnmower and the lawnmower won."

"Shut up, Leo." Maya yanked a beanie over her head. Freshman year was hard enough without walking into homeroom looking like she'd cut her own hair with craft scissors during a mental breakdown. Which, technically, she had.

At school, she kept her head down, palm sweating against her phone where Jackson's latest post sat open. A photo of the sunset at the beach with some cryptic caption: *Sometimes the riddles are the answers.* What did that even mean? Was he talking to her? They'd been texting for two weeks, and his profile was basically one giant sphinx-like mystery.

"You okay?" Chloe slid into the seat next to her in English, concerned. "You're being weirdly quiet. And you never wear hats inside."

Maya's throat tightened. "I'm fine."

"Right." Chloe raised an eyebrow. "So this isn't about Jackson, or the fact that you ghosted him last night?"

"I didn't ghost him! I just... needed a minute."

"You know," Chloe said thoughtfully, "my cousin does palm readings. She says your life line can tell you if you're overthinking things."

"This isn't overthinking," Maya protested, though she could feel her resolve crumbling. "This is... strategic silence."

"Strategic silence?" Chloe laughed. "Girl, you've got the memory of a goldfish when it comes to boys. You forget everything they say, then panic-interpret everything. Text him already."

Maya looked down at her phone. Jackson had posted again. Another sunset, another caption: *The answer isn't running away. It's showing up as yourself.*

Her hands trembled as she typed: *Got a bad haircut. Don't laugh.*

*Send it,* she told herself. *Send it now.*

The reply came instantly: *Bet it looks fire. Can't wait to see it.*

Maya pulled off her beanie in the middle of English class. Chloe's jaw dropped. "You're really going for it."

"Yeah," Maya said, something loosening in her chest. "I guess I'm done hiding."

Her hair was uneven. Her palms were sweating. But for the first time in weeks, she wasn't running away from the riddle. She was showing up to solve it.