Riddles at the Rec Center

Marcus quit baseball three days ago and hadn't told anyone yet.

"You coming to the game Friday?" Tyler asked, spinning a baseball on his finger like it was nothing. They were at the rec center, the whole crew sprawled across the bleachers near the indoor pool. The chlorine smell hit Marcus like it always did—sharp and clean, totally different from the dirt and grass of the baseball field.

"Nah, got stuff," Marcus mumbled, which wasn't exactly a lie. He definitely had stuff. Mostly panic.

The baseball slipped from Tyler's fingers and rolled toward the pool deck. Splash.

"My bad!" Tyler laughed, but Marcus was already moving. He'd been spending more time at the pool lately, swimming laps when the rec center was empty, letting the water wash away the expectations that felt heavier every time he stepped onto the pitcher's mound. His dad's voice echoed in his head: *You've got talent, Marcus. Don't waste it.*

Marcus fished the baseball out of the shallow end. As he stood up, water dripping from his arms, he caught sight of it—the weird sphinx statue that the rec center had installed last summer as part of some "art meets athletics" thing. A lion body with a human face, perched dramatically near the exit like it was guarding the secrets of every teenager who'd ever walked through these doors.

What kind of riddle would you ask me? Marcus wondered. *What's the thing that's destroying me but I'm terrified to lose?* Answer: Baseball. The sport that made his dad proud but made Marcus want to puke before every game.

"You good?" Tyler asked. Marcus realized he'd been staring at the sphinx for way too long.

"Yeah." Marcus gripped the wet baseball. The weight felt wrong now. "Hey, can I tell you something?"

The pool area went quiet. Even the sphinx seemed to be waiting.

"I quit the team," Marcus said, his voice barely above the ripple of water. "I don't want to play anymore."

Tyler didn't laugh. Didn't call him crazy. Just nodded like he'd been waiting for Marcus to figure it out too. "Okay. You gonna swim instead?"

Marcus looked at the pool, then at the sphinx, then at the baseball in his hand. The answer had been there all along, waiting like a riddle he'd finally solved.

"Yeah," Marcus said, and it felt like breaking through the water's surface after being under too long. "Yeah, I think I am."