Riddles at the Deep End

The pool lights flickered blue against the night sky as Maya hovered at the edge, clutching her orange soda like a lifeline. This was supposed to be the party of the year, but honestly? She felt like a fraud in her two-piece, surrounded by people who'd been popular since kindergarten.

"You gonna stand there all night or actually get in?"

Maya jumped. It was Leo—the new guy with messy dark hair and that frustratingly cute smirk. He was treading water in the deep end, looking annoyingly comfortable.

"I'm thinking," she said, which was a lie. She was overthinking, as usual.

"About what? The meaning of life? Why we're here? Whether cats really do have nine lives?"

Despite herself, Maya smiled. "My cat would argue yes. She's survived falling out a window and eating a entire potted plant."

Leo laughed, and something in her chest did that annoying flutter thing. "See? You're already more interesting than half the people here. They're all busy playing their little status games. You? You're like a sphinx. Mysterious. Watching everything."

"A sphinx?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "Did you just call me a riddle-giving monster from Greek mythology?"

"I called you observant," he corrected. "There's a difference. Plus, sphinxes were cool. They guarded important stuff. Treasures. Knowledge. The good stuff."

The way he said it made it sound like he thought she was worth guarding.

"So," Leo said, swimming closer to the edge. "Since you're the sphinx, I gotta ask: what's your riddle? What's the thing nobody else gets about you?"

Maya looked at her orange soda, at the water rippling gently, at the ridiculous boy waiting for her answer like it actually mattered.

"My riddle," she said slowly, "is why I'm still standing up here when it's like ninety degrees out."

She set her drink down and jumped.

The shock of cold water was instant, refreshing, real. When she surfaced, Leo was grinning.

"Not exactly a profound answer," he said.

"Sometimes," she said, splashing water in his face, "the answer's just to jump in anyway."

He laughed, wiping water from his eyes. "Yeah. Sometimes it is."

And for the first time all night, Maya didn't feel like she was pretending.