Riddles Behind the Padel Court

Leo's iPhone buzzed in his pocket—again. Another Instagram notification he didn't need to check. He stared at his thumbs, suddenly aware that he'd been doomscrolling for twenty minutes instead of warming up.

"You ready, bro?" Marcus called from the padel court. "Tryouts start in five."

Leo shoved his phone in his bag. Padel was supposed to be HIS thing, something that wasn't Marcus's shadow. But here he was, second-guessing everything like always.

Then he saw HER.

She sat on the bleachers, hair in this effortless cascade that looked intentional but not trying-too-hard, eating papaya from a Tupperware like it was completely normal. Everyone called her Sphinx because she'd transferred in three weeks ago and hadn't said a word to anyone. Legend was she'd turned down the varsity captain's Snapchat request with a single 🙃 emoji.

Now she was looking at Leo.

He froze. His brain short-circuited. Should he wave? Nod? Pretend he didn't see her?

"Your dog's cute," she said.

Leo blinked. Then he noticed the scruffy terrier curled beside her, wearing a faded bandana. "That's not... that's not mine."

"He's been following you around all morning." She smiled, and Leo's chest did this flutter thing that was definitely not normal. "I'm Cleo."

"Leo. I'm, uh, trying out for padel."

"I know." She held out a piece of papaya. "You want? It's actually fire."

Leo took it, their fingers brushing for a microsecond that felt huge. The papaya WAS good—sweet and tangy and unexpected, kind of like this moment.

"You know what a sphinx really is?" Cleo said suddenly.

"A monster from Greek mythology?"

"A guardian," she said. "Someone who asks the right questions."

"Like riddles?"

"Like: why are you trying out for padel when you hate racquet sports?"

Leo's mouth opened. Closed. "How'd you—"

Cleo stood up, the dog trotting after her. "Pay attention, Leo. The answers are obvious if you actually look."

She walked away, and Leo stood there with papaya sticky on his fingers, iPhone buzzing in his pocket, totally thrown. But for the first time all day, he wasn't thinking about who was watching or what he should post or whether Marcus would approve.

He was thinking about trying something he actually wanted to.

His phone buzzed again. Leo ignored it and followed Cleo toward the court, the little dog padding beside him like he'd always belonged there.