Sphinx at the Padel Court

Maya played spy again, leaning against the chain-link fence with her phone angled like a mirror. The popular crew had taken court three—of course—Chloe bouncing her padel racket off her calf while Tyler pretended not to preen.

"You're doing that thing," said Kai, appearing beside her with a locker-slamming thud. "The Sphinx face. All mysterious and judging."

Maya rolled her eyes. "I'm not judging. I'm observing. There's a difference."

"Same difference." Kai flopped onto the bench beside her. "You know, Chloe's actually decent at padel. You could ask to join next rotation."

"And watch Tyler drip sweat all over everything while trying to hit on her? Hard pass."

Kai laughed, then sobered. "Seriously though, you've been spying on them for two weeks. What's the deal?"

"I'm not—" Maya stopped. Water pricked her eyes—stupid, traitorous tears. "Okay, fine. Chloe was my best friend in sixth grade. Before she got contacts and discovered" she gestured vaguely "all of this."

"Oh." Kai softened. "The bear incident?"

"Don't call it that." Maya's face burned. "It was ONE camping trip. ONE. I panicked when I saw a bear cub near our tent and Chloe made sure everyone knew I'd screamed like a baby and hid in the car for three hours."

"That does sound... specific."

"She told the whole school at orientation. Made it this whole huge thing. And then she found new friends and I just... stayed quiet." Maya swallowed hard. "Now I watch from the fence like some loser creeper."

Kai was quiet for a moment. Then, "You know what's funny?"

"What?"

"Chloe's been looking at you too."

Maya blinked. "What?"

"Yeah. When you're not looking. She watches you back." Kai stood up, grabbing his racket. "Almost like she's trapped in her own weird sphinx riddle and doesn't know how to solve it either."

Maya's heart did this stupid little flip. "You think?"

"I know a lot of things." Kai winked. "Including that you're coming to play padel with us right now. Court four's open."

"I haven't played in—"

"Years. I know." Kai tossed her a spare racket. She caught it instinctively. "Bear or not, you're not hiding on the sidelines anymore. That's my final offer."

The water fountain nearby gurgled. The chain-link fence waited. Beyond it, Chloe glanced over, caught Maya's eye, and almost smiled.

Maya gripped the racket. "Fine. But if Tyler starts flirting, I'm out."

"Deal."