Riddles at the Deep End

Maya stood at the edge of the **pool**, chlorine stinging her nose, clutching her phone like a lifeline. The graduation party was in full swing—people she'd known forever transformed into strangers with beach towels andIPA cans.

"You coming in or what?"

She turned. It was Leo, her oldest **friend**, wearing those stupid galaxy swim trunks from seventh grade that somehow still fit. He'd become weirdly hot over the summer, which was inconvenient for Maya's carefully maintained "just friends" narrative.

"Maybe later," she said, though later usually meant never.

Her phone buzzed. A text from her group chat: "Party at Jenson's is WILD. Where ARE you?"

Maya glanced at Leo, then at her phone, then at the **dog** paddling clumsily through the water. Someone's golden retriever, clearly uninvited but universally beloved. The dog shook itself off near the DJ setup, spraying water all over the sophomore who'd been bragging about his curated playlist all night. Everyone laughed. Even Maya.

"My **cat** would NEVER," she said to Leo.

"Your cat literally hides under your bed when the delivery guy comes," Leo shot back. "R.I.P. to her social life."

They sat on the pool edge, feet in the water, watching the social hierarchies dissolve into something softer. Maya's older sister had once told her that high school was like being trapped in an endless riddle from the **sphinx**—impossible to solve until you stopped trying to be who everyone else expected.

"Hey, Maya." Leo's voice dropped. "You remember that sphinx riddle from mythology class? What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, three in the evening?"

"Man," she said. "It's literally just aging."

"Yeah, but." Leo's knee bumped hers underwater. "I feel like I'm still figuring out how to walk on two legs, you know? Like, who am I when nobody's watching?"

The DJ switched to a song they'd danced to at winter formal. Leo stood up, held out a hand.

"Come on. We can figure it out together."

Maya took his hand. The sphinx's riddle had been about time passing, but maybe the real answer wasn't about legs at all—maybe it was about who stood beside you while you learned to stand on your own.

They jumped in at the same time, resurfacing grinning, as the dog barked triumphantly from the sidelines.