Riddles at the Padel Court

The country club felt like a different planet, and Maya was definitely the alien. She tugged at her polo collar—why did rich people clothing always choke you?—and watched from behind a palm tree as the popular kids gathered at the padel court. Tyler laughed at something Chloe said, his hair perfectly messy even in humidity. Maya's stomach did that pathetic little flip it always did when he was nearby.

"You're being weird about this again," said Sophie, sliding up beside her with a smoothie. Sophie was her anchor in these shark-infested waters. "Just go talk to him. Worst he can do is be dog about it."

"Did you just say 'dog' instead of 'a jerk'?" Maya deadpanned.

"My little brother says it now. It's gonna be huge, trust." Sophie grinned. "But seriously, Tyler's been asking about you."

Maya's heart kicked up. "Me? Why?"

"Something about you being the only person who solved Mr. Harrison's sphinx riddle last week without looking it up." Sophie raised her eyebrows. "He thinks you're smart, Maya. It's not the worst problem to have."

The sphinx question—the bonus credit riddle their English teacher had put on the final. 'What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in evening?' Classic Oedipus stuff. Maya had answered it in thirty seconds while everyone else panicked.

Tyler was walking over now. This was fine. Everything was fine. Her palms were sweating so much she might as well have been swimming.

"Hey," he said, and her brain short-circuited. "I was gonna ask—there's this party at Jensen's tonight. You should come."

"Jensen whose house has the pool?" Sophie piped up, because Sophie was a genius.

"Yeah, that one." Tyler's smile was lopsided and genuinely nervous. "Unless you have other plans?"

Maya found herself nodding. "No. No other plans. I mean, yes, I'll come."

"Cool." Tyler backed away like he'd just diffused a bomb. "Cool, cool. See you there."

When he was gone, Sophie grabbed Maya's arm. "Did we just witness character development?"

"I think I forgot how to speak English," Maya admitted, leaning against the palm tree for support.

"Welcome to being a teenager," Sophie said, steering her toward the exit. "It's all downhill from here, bestie. Literally. Jensen's pool is on a hill."