Riddles by the Palm

Maya regretted agreeing to come to Tyler's pool party the moment she walked through the gate. Dozens of people in various states of undress lounged around the massive inground pool, music thumping from somewhere. She clutched her towel tighter, suddenly very aware of the one-piece underneath her oversized t-shirt.

"You gonna swim or just stand there looking like you're guarding something?" Chloe called out, flipping her hair dramatically. Maya's best friend was already waist-deep in the water, surrounded by the popular crew.

"Maybe later," Maya mumbled, retreating toward the edge of the yard where the ground sloped upward.

Under a massive palm tree, someone sat cross-legged on a lounge chair, completely still. Leo. Everyone called him "the Sphinx" because he never spoke, just watched everything with those intense dark eyes, like he was solving some puzzle no one else could see. He'd transferred to their school three months ago and basically remained a mystery.

Maya sank onto the grass nearby, pulling her knees to her chest. The scent of coconut sunscreen and chlorine hung thick in the humid afternoon air.

"You're afraid they'll notice something," a voice said.

Maya jumped. Leo was looking right at her.

"I—you talked?" she blurted, then cringed. That sounded so stupid.

His mouth twitched. "I talk when it's worth saying something. You've been standing there for twenty minutes, terrified to get in the water. Why?"

Maya considered walking away. But something about his straightforwardness was actually... nice? Not the fake nice everyone else pretended to be.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe I just don't want to be on display. Everyone's always looking, always judging."

Leo nodded slowly. "Let me see your hand."

"What?"

"Your palm. I'll read it. My nana taught me." He held out his own hand, scarred across the knuckles.

Curiosity won. Maya reached over, and Leo traced the lines on her palm with surprisingly gentle fingers.

"You're going to do something brave today," he said after a moment. "And you're going to realize nobody's actually watching as closely as you think."

Maya pulled her hand back, heart weirdly racing. "That's it? That's my fortune?"

"That's not fortune-telling. That's observation." Leo stood up, stretching. "I'm going swimming. You coming?"

He didn't wait for an answer, just walked toward the pool, peeling off his shirt like it was nothing.

Maya watched him dive in, smooth and confident. She thought about what he'd said—about how nobody was watching as closely as she thought. The truth was, everyone was too busy worrying about themselves to spend much time judging her.

She stood up, pulled off her t-shirt, and walked toward the water.

The cool embrace of the pool shocked her senses awake. Chloe waved from the deeper end, grinning. Maya struck out toward her, strokes becoming more confident with every movement. Somewhere under the palm tree, she thought she saw Leo watching, just for a second, before he disappeared beneath the surface.

Maybe the riddle wasn't so complicated after all.