Riddles in the Kitchen

Maya pressed her back against the refrigerator, clutching a red Solo cup like it was a lifeline. The house party swirled around her—laughter thumping from the living room, the bass shaking the floorboards, people she'd known since middle school suddenly transformed into strangers with snap-streaks and vape clouds.

"You look like you're solving a riddle," a voice said.

Maya jumped. A guy leaned against the counter, dark hair falling into eyes that crinkled with genuine amusement. Not the fake kind people did to be polite.

"I'm hiding," she admitted. "Is that a crime?"

"Only if you're the **sphinx** guarding the treasure." He nodded toward the fruit bowl on the island. "Which in this case is apparently a very old papaya."

Maya snorted before she could stop herself. "That's been there since finals week. I think it's achieving consciousness."

"I'm Leo, by the way. Not that anyone's introducing themselves properly tonight."

"Maya."

"Cool." He gestured to the sliding glass door. "Wanna escape? The **goldfish** conversation out there is getting deep."

She followed him into the backyard, where the air was cooler and someone's golden retriever—or what looked like a small **horse**—bounded toward them, tail clearing entire zip codes.

"That's Barnaby," Leo said, scratching behind the dog's ears. "He thinks everyone here came just to pet him. Honestly? He's not wrong."

A sleek black cat watched them from the top of the fence, radiating judgment and superiority vibes.

"And that's Luna," Leo lowered his voice. "Don't make eye contact. She's plotting something."

Maya laughed—really laughed, the kind that started in her stomach and bubbled up before she could overthink it. The party noise faded to a distant hum.

"So," Leo said, sitting on the grass and patting the spot beside him. "What's your deal? Besides hiding in kitchens and judging expired fruit."

"My deal?" Maya hesitated, then joined him. Barnaby immediately flopped across her feet. "I guess I'm just... trying to figure out who I'm supposed to be. High school was one thing. But this?" She waved toward the house. "Everyone's got these lives already. And I'm still... waiting for mine to start."

Leo nodded slowly. "You know, sphinxes didn't have all the answers either. They just asked better questions."

Barnaby let out a dramatic sigh, Luna finally deigned to jump down and investigate them with cautious curiosity, and somewhere inside, someone shouted something about a goldfish

reincarnation theory.

"Hey," Leo said. "You wanna get out of here? There's this boba place open until midnight."

Maya looked at this stranger who felt less like one every second. "Yeah," she said, standing up and brushing grass from her jeans. "Yeah, I do."

The sphinx would approve. Some riddles solved themselves.