Riddles Behind the Gym

Maya pressed her **palm** against the cool brick wall behind the gymnasium, heart hammering like she'd just sprinted a mile. She wasn't running—she was hiding. From Tyler. From the fact she'd almost, maybe, sorta let him hold her hand during lunch, then panicked and literally tripped over a backpack in her haste to escape.

"You know," a voice drawled, "the **sphinx** asked better riddles than whatever you're trying to figure out."

Maya jumped. Kian sat on the dumpster edge, dangling his legs like he didn't have a care in the world. His sketchbook was open, charcoal smudged on his fingers like dark secrets.

"I'm not figuring out anything," Maya lied. Kian raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine. I'm a **zombie** of embarrassment. I thought Tyler was gonna make a move, and instead I face-planted in front of half the sophomore class."

Kian snorted. "Dramatic. But also, same energy as last week when I called Mrs. Patterson 'mom' twice in one period. I wanted to dissolve into particles."

Maya cracked a smile. Kian had this way of making her feel less alone in her awkwardness. "So what are you doing back here? Drawing another masterpiece?"

"Nah." He flipped the sketchbook around. It was a **cat**—a scraggly, defiant alley cat with one ear torn and eyes that dared the world to mess with it. "My neighbor's cat. She's a total boss, fights every raccoon in the neighborhood. I'm trying to capture her energy."

"That's actually... really good. Like, actually good, not 'my grandma says it's good' good."

Kian shrugged, but his ears went pink. "Thanks. So, you gonna tell me what's actually up with you and Tyler, or keep playing **bull** in the china shop every time he looks at you?"

"Wow, rude. But accurate." Maya sighed, sliding down the wall to sit beside him. "I think I'm just scared. What if it's weird? What if he realizes I'm not... I don't know, whatever he thinks I am?"

Kian nodded slowly. "Here's the thing about being scared—it just means you care about not messing up. But Tyler's been crushing on you since October. The only way you mess this up is if you keep treating his existence like a bomb that might explode."

Maya looked at him. "Since October?"

"Bro, it's literally obvious. He asked me if you liked horror movies three weeks ago. What do you think that was about?"

Maya's stomach did this fluttery thing. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Kian hopped off the dumpster. "Come on. I'll walk you back inside. Safety in numbers, right?"

"Thanks, Kian."

"Anytime. Just remember," he grinned, "even the sphinx didn't have all the answers. Sometimes you just gotta guess."

Maya took a deep breath. Her palm didn't feel so sweaty anymore. And maybe, just maybe, she'd actually talk to Tyler tomorrow without face-planting. Probably.