Riddles at the Net

Maya stood at the padel court, clutching her racket like a lifeline. The neon lights buzzed overhead as Jake—the reigning king of sophomore PE—served the ball. *Thwack.* Against the wall, back at her.

"Nice hustle, Sphinx," he called out. That was her nickname now, thanks to that one time she'd refused to answer Mr. Harrison's question about her summer plans. Maya the Sphinx. Mysterious. Aloof. (Really just overthinking everything, like always).

She missed the return. The ball bounced twice.

"My bad," she muttered, adjusting her dad's oversized fedora—she'd started wearing hats to hide the fact that she never knew what to do with her hair, and now it was her Thing.

After practice, she found herself at Luna's kitchen table, Luna pushing a bowl of cubed papaya toward her. "Eat. You're starving."

"I'm not hungry," Maya said, even as her stomach growled.

"Girl. You played like you were running on vibes and air." Luna leaned in. "So... did you talk to him?"

Maya poked at the papaya. "About what?"

"About you-know-what. You know, the BIG you-know-what."

The papaya tasted like summer and secrets. "I can't just... say it. What if he looks at me like I'm crazy?"

"What if he's waiting for YOU to say it?" Luna countered. "You're not a sphinx, Maya. You don't have to be mysterious all the time."

The next day at lunch, Jake sat across from her. "Hey, Sphinx."

Maya's heart did that thing it always did. She adjusted her hat. "Hey."

"You coming to the court later?" Jake asked. "I want to show you this thing."

"What thing?"

He grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know."

She would. She really, really would.

Maybe sphinxes had riddles, but they also had answers. And maybe—just maybe—it was time to start giving them.