Riddle of the Sphinx

Maya's heart hammered against her ribs as she rounded the corner, the cafeteria chatter fading into a distant roar. She'd been doing this for weeks now—literally running away from her problems. At this rate, she'd have Olympic stamina before she figured out how to talk to him.

'Yo, wait up!'

Leo's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts. Damn. She slowed, pretending she hadn't been sprinting away from their usual lunch table like it was on fire.

'Hey,' she managed, already breathless. 'Just needed to... clear my head.'

Leo raised an eyebrow, his messenger bag sliding off his shoulder. 'Again? Third time this week, Maya. You good?'

'So good,' she lied. 'Just... running.'

'Right.' He didn't buy it. 'Hey, about that sphinx riddle in history—'

'The Egyptian one?' She perked up despite herself. Ancient mythology was her hyperfixation.

'Yeah. What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, three in the evening?' Leo grinned. 'You totally checked out before Mr. Harrison gave the answer.'

Maya's brain short-circuited. She knew this. She KNEW this. But Leo was standing too close, looking at her with those stupidly earnest eyes, and suddenly every fact in her head had evaporated.

'Um... a fox?' she blurted.

Leo blinked. 'A what?'

'You know, like... they sneak around on four legs, then stand on two to look over stuff, then—' She was spiraling. 'Okay, I don't actually know.'

Leo laughed, and Maya wanted to dissolve into the linoleum. But then his expression softened.

'It's humans, dummy. Babies crawl, adults walk, old people use canes.'

'Oh. Right. Duh.'

'You good? You've been... different lately.' He stepped closer, lowering his voice. 'If something's up, you can tell me.'

Maya's throat tightened. She could tell him. Could explain that her mom was moving across the country next month, that she'd have to choose between her family and... everything else. That every time she looked at Leo, she thought about how much she'd miss—

'I'm fine,' she said instead.

Leo studied her face, and for a second, she thought he'd push. But then he nodded, accepting the lie she'd served him.

'Alright. But hey—' he bumped her shoulder, 'next time you're running from your problems? Take me with you. I could use the cardio.'

Maya's chest ached, something warm and terrifying blooming beneath it. 'Yeah,' she whispered. 'Okay.'

The bell rang, and they started walking back. She still didn't have answers. Still didn't know how to fix the mess her life had become. But as Leo fell into step beside her, cracking jokes about sphinxes and foxes and whatever else popped into his head, Maya thought maybe she didn't need to run anymore.

Maybe she could just... walk. For now.