Riddles and Papaya Wedges

The museum field trip was supposed to be boring, but then Leo pointed at the ancient Egyptian sphinx and whispered, "Bet you can't solve its riddle before third period."

I rolled my eyes. "There's no riddle, you walnut. It's a statue."

"Exactly." Leo grinned, already typing furiously on his phone. "But if there was, you'd crush it. You're, like, secretly smart."

I was NOT secretly smart. I was just good at blending into the background — a talent I'd perfected since middle school, when my hair decided to be frizzy and my social life decided to be non-existent.

The cafeteria later that day was its usual chaos. Maya, who I'd been crushing on since September, sat two tables away. She was laughing at something, head thrown back, hair smooth and perfect. Meanwhile, I was staring at my lunch like it held the answers to the universe.

"What's THAT?" Leo gestured at my Tupperware with theatrical disgust.

"Papaya," I said defensively. "My mom's on this health kick. She thinks it'll, like, unlock my brain potential or something."

"It looks like an alien organ."

"Shut up. At least I'm not eating spinach salad again."

Leo WAS eating spinach salad. Again. He claimed it made him "focused." I claimed it made him smell like a garden.

"Dude, just talk to her," Leo said, suddenly serious. "Maya. Just go over there and say... I don't know. Ask her about the sphinx. Ask if she knows any riddles. Be weird. She likes weird."

"I'm not being weird on purpose. That's cringe."

"You're already weird. Just own it."

I stood up. My heart hammered. My palms sweated. This was it — my chance to either make a move or embarrass myself so thoroughly I'd have to transfer schools.

Maya looked up as I approached. "Hey! Aren't you in Mr. Harrison's English class?"

"Yeah." My voice squeaked. Awesome. "I, um, liked your presentation on Egyptian mythology. The sphinx riddle thing was cool."

She lit up. "OMG, right?! People always think it's just a statue, but it's literally the OG puzzles. Do you like riddles?"

"I..." I glanced back at Leo, who was dramatically shoving papaya into his mouth and giving me thumbs up. "Yeah. Actually, I do."

Maya slid over. "Okay, here's one: What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees, up, up it goes, and yet it never grows?"

I stared at her. Then I started laughing. "A mountain."

"YES!" She high-fived me. "You're actually good at these!"

We spent the rest of lunch trading riddles and awkwardly sharing my papaya while Leo watched from his table, looking suspiciously proud.

Maybe sphinxes don't riddle everyone. Maybe some people, you just have to approach them with the right question.

"Same tomorrow?" Maya asked as the bell rang.

"Yeah," I said, trying to play it cool. "Same tomorrow."

I sat through pre-calc smiling like an idiot. Leo texted me: "told u.

I didn't even mind that my mom packed spinach in my backpack for dinner.