Riddles in the Pocket

Maya's iPhone buzzed against her thigh, vibrating with that specific rhythmic pattern that meant only one thing: Sphinx notification.

She ducked into the bathroom stall before checking. The anonymous app had taken over Northwood High since September — everyone used it to spill secrets, ask for advice, or post crush confessions without their name attached. Maya had been ghost-posting there for weeks, working up the courage to finally DM her crush, Jamal.

"New riddle," the screen read. "What has hands but can't clap?"

Maya rolled her eyes. Another Sphinx riddle. The app's AI was weirdly obsessed with them.

"A clock," she typed back. Her username, @shadow_writer, had built a small following for her poetry posts and quick riddle solves.

The door squeaked open. Maya's heart dropped as she recognized Harper's laugh — Harper, the junior class president, Harper, who sat behind Jamal in third period, Harper, who made everything look effortless.

"...I'm just saying, the bear costume is ridiculous," Harper was saying. "Like, who actually volunteered for mascot duty?"

Maya froze. She'd agreed to be the bear at tonight's game because her mom said it would look good on college applications. "Builds character," she'd said. Right. More like builds maximum social suicide.

She waited until the bathroom cleared before emerging, iPhone clutched tight. The app pinged again.

@king_j: "Nice riddle skills. You going to the game?"

Maya's stomach flipped. Jamal.

She stared at the response, thumbs hovering. This was it — her chance to finally connect with him outside of English lit discussions. But if she admitted she'd be there... dressed as a bear...

Her old childhood bear sat on her bed at home, its fuzzy brown coat worn smooth from years of comforting her through moves, friend breakups, and bad haircut decisions. Something about bears had always felt safe.

@shadow_writer: "Maybe. Why?"

@king_j: "Just wondering if I'll get to see who's behind the mystery riddles. ;)

Maya's cheeks burned. She pressed the phone against her chest, heartbeat loud in her ears. Tonight, inside that suffocating bear costume, nobody would see her blush. Nobody would see her at all.

Maybe that wasn't so bad after all.

@shadow_writer: "Look for the bear. ;)"

She hit send before she could overthink it. Sometimes the scariest riddles are the ones you write yourself.