Riddles Beneath the Bleachers

I felt like a zombie dragging myself through third period, my brain foggy from staying up until 2 AM gaming. When the bell finally rang, I practically zombie-shuffled to the baseball field, where Marcus was already waiting by the dugout. He'd made varsity as a freshman—basically a social god at Northwood High.

"You coming to open tryouts?" Marcus asked, spinning a baseball in his hand like it was nothing. "Coach says they need a left fielder."

I hesitated. Baseball wasn't really my thing—I was more of a band kid, eventually. But Marcus had been my best friend since fourth grade, back when we both still had matching bear hoodies our moms bought us. Those hoodies were long gone, buried somewhere in the back of our closets along with our childhoods.

"I'll think about it," I said.

That's when I noticed her. Maya Chen sat on the bleachers, reading a book with a sphinx on the cover. She transferred here last month and already had this mysterious aura, like she knew something nobody else did. She caught me looking and raised an eyebrow.

"You're staring," she said, closing her book.

"Sorry. Just... what's with the sphinx?"

"Riddles," she said. "Life's full of them. Want one?"

Before I could answer, Marcus called my name. He was hitting balls into the outfield, each crack of the bat echoing like thunder. He waved me over, and I felt that weird pull—between my oldest friend and this strange girl who looked at me like I was actually interesting.

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?" Maya called out.

I turned back to her. "That's the classic sphinx riddle. Man."

"Too easy," she smiled. "Okay, new one: What's something you can lose without ever misplacing?"

Marcus hit another ball. I looked between them—my past and whatever this was.

"Yourself," I said finally.

Maya nodded, like I'd passed a test I didn't know I was taking. "Exactly. So, are you going to tryouts, or are you going to keep being a zombie about everything?"

I laughed. Maybe it was time to stop sleepwalking through high school. Maybe it was time to figure out who I actually was, separate from Marcus's shadow. Maybe, just maybe, I'd even try out for baseball.

"Both," I said. "I'm coming to tryouts. And I want to hear more riddles."

Marcus grinned. Maya smiled. And for the first time in forever, I didn't feel like a zombie at all.