Riddles at the Deep End

The papaya mango smoothie was practically disintegrating in my sweat-slicked hand, condensation dripping down my wrist like I was some kind of nervous faucet. Jace's pool party raged around me—bodies cannonballing, Drake thumping from portable speakers, laughter that seemed to mock my very existence on this planet.

I'd been crushing on Skylar since seventh period English when she'd recited that entire monologue from Macbeth like she was born to be both dramatic and effortlessly cool. She'd been giving me sphinx energy all year—this beautiful, unknowable riddle I couldn't solve no matter how many times I rehearsed conversations in my bathroom mirror.

Now she emerged from the pool, water cascading down her athletic frame like something out of a movie I'd never be cast in. She spotted me standing alone by the snack table, clutching my melting smoothie like a life preserver.

"Hey," Skylar said, dripping pool water onto the concrete. "You gonna drink that papaya situation or marry it?"

"I—what?" My brain short-circuited.

She laughed, and it wasn't mean. "I'm messing with you. You're Maya, right? From English?"

I nodded, suddenly hyperaware of my chlorine-stained tank top and the way my hair had definitely given up on life.

"You're like the only person who actually laughed at Mr. Henderson's jokes," she said, grabbing a towel. "That's kind of brave."

"He tries," I managed.

"Wanna play pool?" She pointed toward the table on the patio. "I'm terrible but I make these sound effects that are apparently entertaining enough that people keep playing with me."

The sphinx had revealed herself—not a riddle to be solved, but a person who made ridiculous sound effects while missing easy shots. And somewhere between her terrible aim and my papaya-flavored courage, I stopped being just the quiet girl from English class and started being someone who could stay afloat.

Later, when she sank the eight ball and screamed like she'd won the World Cup, I realized something: sometimes the best stories aren't about becoming someone new. They're about finally letting someone see who you've been all along.