Riddles Under Orange Skies

Maya's orange crop top matched the sunset perfectly, which was honestly the only thing going right at Spring Fling. She was supposed to be having the time of her life, junior year peak experience, blah blah blah. Instead she was third-wheeling hard while Chloe and Tyler practically inhaled each other's faces near the punch bowl.

"I'm gonna go check out the fortune teller," Maya mumbled, already walking away.

The palm reading booth was set up in the corner, complete with fake crystal ball and way too much incense. An old lady with way too many rings grabbed Maya's hand without looking up.

"Interesting," the fortune teller traced the lines on Maya's palm. "You're being watched. Someone's spying on your social media."

Maya yanked her hand back. "That's not exactly fortune telling. That's just called being a teenage girl in 2024."

The old lady winked. "True. But this one has a riddle for you. Solve it, and you discover who's been creating those fake accounts to stalk your posts."

Okay, that was weirdly specific.

"I'm silent but loud," the fortune teller continued. "I see everything but show nothing. Your secret admirer uses me to spy, but I'm not Instagram or Snapchat. What am I?"

Maya's brain raced. Some anonymous question app? A burner account?

Then it hit her. The sphinx emoji.

Someone had been leaving sphinx emojis on all her posts for weeks. At first she thought it was random, but the pattern was undeniable. Every selfie, every random thought, every cryptic song lyric — there it was.

Maya scanned the crowded gym, her heart pounding. Who would bother creating fake profiles just to react to her posts? Who would sit through hours of her content just to leave the same emoji over and over?

Her eyes landed on Lucas from her English class, the quiet guy who always sat behind her. He was standing alone by the bleachers, phone in hand, orange light from the vending machine reflecting on his face.

Their eyes met across the room. He didn't look away. Instead, he held up his phone, showing her the screen.

A sphinx emoji.

Maya walked over, somehow not nervous. "So you're my secret admirer slash social media stalker?"

Lucas actually smiled. "Only the admirer part. The emoji thing is my way of saying I'm listening. Your posts are actually really interesting. You talk about books and music and... I don't know, you just seem cool."

"You couldn't just... DM me?"

"Too scary."

Maya laughed. "Yeah, fair."

The DJ started playing their song — that one remix they'd both posted about last week. The sphinx riddle wasn't so mysterious after all. Sometimes being watched wasn't creepy. Sometimes it just meant someone was paying attention.

"Want to dance?" Maya asked.

Lucas's face lit up orange in the vending machine glow. "Absolutely."