Riddles at the Pool Edge

Maya's grip tightened around the padel racket, her palms sweating against the tape. First day at camp, and she'd already managed to volunteer for the sport nobody else wanted. Padel tennis—like someone mashed regular tennis and squash together, then decided the court should be made of glass.

"You're up against The Sphinx," whispered Jessie from the sidelines, adjusting her oversize sweatshirt in the July heat.

"The who?"

"Cameron. That's his nickname. "Cause he's all mysterious and barely talks, but when he does, it's like he's dropping truth bombs or riddles or whatever." Jessie rolled her eyes. "He's also weirdly good at padel."

Great. Maya stepped onto the court, her sneakers squeaking against the artificial turf. Across the net, Cameron stood loose-limbed and unreadable, dark hair falling over his eyes as he spun his racket.

They played in silence—the solid thwack of the ball against glass walls, the shuffling of feet, Maya's increasingly desperate attempts to keep up. She was overthinking everything, her usual talent for overanalyzing social situations now weaponizing itself against her backhand.

Then it happened. She lunged for a shot near the wall, her racket clipping the glass. The ball sailed sideways, directly into the massive water cooler sitting courtside. Ice water exploded upward in a glittering arc, drenching Cameron from head to toe.

The court went silent. Maya's face burned.

Cameron wiped water from his eyes, droplets clinging to his lashes like he'd just emerged from some mythological spring. For a second, nobody moved. Then his shoulders started shaking.

"Well," he said, spraying water as he laughed, "that's one way to beat The Sphinx. Drown him."

Something in Maya's chest loosened. "I was aiming for your ego, actually."

"Missed," he said, grinning now, all that mysterious Sphinx energy dissolving into something real. "But nice shot."

Later that night, Maya sat by the lake with Jessie, watching moonlight ripple across the water. "So, Cameron's actually... normal?"

"Told you," Jessie said, passing her a bag of pretzels. "He's not actually a riddle. He's just shy." She paused. "Also, I saw you two laughing. You know he's been asking about you?"

Maya's stomach did that annoying flip-flop thing. "Asking what?"

"Who the new girl is who commits attempted murder with water coolers." Jessie bumped her shoulder. "Welcome to camp, Maya."