Riddles at the Rec Center

Leo hated running. Mostly because he sucked at it, but also because his dad was all about those ultramarathons and kept pushing him to join the track team. 'It builds character, Leo! Character you can't get from scrolling TikTok all day.'

So here he was, jogging laps around the neighborhood at 7 AM while everyone else was sleeping or vaping behind the 7-Eleven. His phone buzzed in his pocket — probably Maya sending memes about their summer school chemistry class.

At least he had the pool. The community rec center job was lowkey the best thing about summer. Mostly just sitting in the elevated chair, looking vaguely authoritative, and getting paid minimum wage to zone out. That's where he saw her: the new girl, dripping wet and climbing out of the pool, orange bikini bright against the blue water.

She caught him staring and raised an eyebrow. 'You gonna blow your whistle at me, lifeguard?'

Leo almost fell out of his chair. 'I — no. Sorry. Just doing my job.' Smooth. Real smooth.

Her name was Cleo, and she was like a walking sphinx riddle. She'd show up randomly, swim laps like she was training for the Olympics, then disappear for days. Sometimes she'd sit on the pool edge and ask weird questions. 'What's something that's yours but everyone else uses it more than you do?'

Leo had squinted at her. 'I dunno, my phone?'

'Your name,' she'd said, like it was obvious. Then she'd dive back into the water like some mystical creature.

The day before the big neighborhood pool party, Leo found her sitting on a bench outside, peeling an orange. She looked different somehow — softer.

'You coming tomorrow?' she asked.

Leo's stomach did that thing. 'Probably have to work.'

'They got you on weekend shifts? That's rough.' She tossed him an orange slice. 'Here. For energy.'

Later, he found out from Maya that Cleo's mom had been sick, something about vitamin deficiencies and needing to move here for better doctors. Suddenly everything clicked — the random schedule, the disappearing acts, the way she seemed like she was carrying something heavy.

At the party, Leo finally asked her the question that had been eating at him all summer. 'Why all the riddles?'

Cleo smiled, and for the first time, it actually reached her eyes. 'My grandma used to say life's just a series of riddles we're all trying to solve together. Figured I'd start small.'

She dove into the pool, surface smooth as glass. Leo realized he didn't hate running anymore — or maybe he just finally found something worth running toward.