Riddles in the Dark

The party was already lit when Maya arrived, clutching her iphone like a lifeline. Her notifications had been blowing up all night, but right now, the screen just showed her own anxious reflection in the glass.

"Yo Maya! You made it!" Leo grinned from the kitchen doorway, wearing an orange hoodie that somehow worked with his messy curls. "Try this punch."

She hesitated, then stepped inside. The bowl was filled with something floating and mysterious. "What is that? Papaya chunks?"

"Exotic, right?" Leo winked. "Live a little."

Maya took a cup, her eyes scanning the room. That's when she saw her—the new girl, Raven, sitting alone on the back porch. Raven had this tattoo on her shoulder: a sphinx, all intricate lines and mystery. Everyone whispered about her. Some said she'd moved here from somewhere crazy overseas. Others claimed she'd been homeschooled her whole life.

Before Maya could overthink it, she grabbed another cup and headed outside.

"Hey," Raven said, looking up. Her voice was quieter than Maya expected. "Thanks."

"No problem." Maya sat beside her. "Cool tattoo."

Raven's fingers traced the sphinx outline. "Yeah. My grandpa designed it. Said I've always been full of riddles."

"Like the sphinx?"

"Exactly." Raven smiled, and it transformed her face from mysterious to just... real. "What about you? What's your deal?"

Maya laughed, surprised. "My deal? I'm just Maya. I like photography. I hate math. And I've been crushing on Leo since seventh grade but he's completely clueless."

"Leo's sweet," Raven said. "But maybe you need someone who'd actually notice you."

Maya's phone buzzed. A text from her group chat: WHERE R U??? 😭

She ignored it. "You think?"

"I know." Raven leaned closer. "Hey, want to see something?"

She pulled out her own phone and showed Maya a photo: a tiny bear cub she'd rescued last summer, back before she moved.

"No way," Maya breathed. "That's insane."

"He was abandoned," Raven said softly. "I named him Riddle. Because some things you just have to figure out for yourself."

The back door opened. Leo stepped out, looking between them. "Maya? Everything cool?"

Maya looked at Raven, who gave her this tiny encouraging nod.

"Yeah," Maya said, and for the first time all night, she actually meant it. "Everything's perfect."

Her phone could wait. Some notifications were worth missing.