Riddles Under The Sun

The papaya-colored swimsuit was Maya's mom's idea. "It's practically high fashion," she'd insisted, but Maya felt like a walking fruit in neon orange. At least the oversized hat covered half her face when she pulled it down far enough.

She stood by the edge of the pool, water rippling like nerves in her stomach. Everyone else was laughing, splashing, being normal. Being teens who didn't overthink their every move like some kind of personal defect.

Then Lucas emerged from the water, droplets sliding down his arms like he was some kind of merman or something. Maya's heart did that stupid fluttery thing it always did when he was nearby—the feeling was absurd and electric and totally unfair.

"You okay?" he asked, sliding his palm against the pool deck to pull himself up. His hair was wet and messy and Maya wanted to both look away and never look at anything else ever again.

"Yeah, just... thinking." Maya adjusted her hat, wishing she could disappear into it completely.

"You're always thinking." Lucas sat beside her, dripping wet, not caring that he was soaking her towel. "That's your thing. You're like the sphinx, always with the riddles."

"That's not a thing," Maya said, but she was smiling now despite herself. "Also, sphinxes ask the riddles, they don't have them."

"Whatever." Lucas nudged her shoulder with his wet arm. "You know what I mean. What's today's riddle, sphinx girl?"

"Okay." Maya took a breath. "What's bright enough to burn but you keep staring anyway?"

Lucas actually thought about it, water dripping from his chin. "The sun? No, that's too easy. Your future?"

"Wow, dark."

"I'm going through a phase." Lucas grinned. "So what's the answer?"

"I haven't figured it out yet."

They sat there as the party moved around them, two neon-bright teens in a papaya-colored swimsuit and wet board shorts, not talking about anything important but also talking about everything.

The answer came to Maya later, but she never told him.