Sphinx in My Pocket

The air crackled with that special kind of electricity you only feel at parties where everything could go either way — legendary or absolutely cringe. Maya clutched her iPhone like a lifeline, thumbs hovering over Sophie's text: "I like Alex. Don't tell anyone."

Bad timing. Sophie liked Alex? The same Alex who'd been giving Maya heart-eyes across AP Euro all semester?

"You good?" Alex appeared, sliding onto the porch swing beside her. Behind them, a storm was brewing, the sky bruising purple.

"Just... thinking." Maya's phone burned in her hand. Should she tell Sophie? Should she tell Alex? Her stomach did that thing where it felt like she'd swallowed a sphinx — all riddles and no answers.

"You look like you're solving the mysteries of the universe," Alex said, bumping her shoulder. His smile was stupid-cute. Maya felt like lightning had struck somewhere in her chest, bright and terrifying.

"Wish. Just friend drama."

"Friend?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "Like... friend-zone friend? Or friend friend?"

Maya almost laughed. Was he being dense on purpose? "Why? You offering a better category?"

THUNDER cracked directly overhead. They both jumped. Then his phone buzzed. Maya glimpsed the screen before he could flip it over: a notification from Sophie's Instagram.

Oh.

OH.

Maya's stomach dropped through the porch floorboards. Sophie hadn't been talking about liking Alex — she'd been talking about MAYA liking Alex. Sophie had seen it all along, and she'd been warning Maya, not confessing.

"You okay?" Alex asked softly. The rain started, gentle at first, then harder.

"Actually?" Maya looked at him, really looked at him. "No. I think I've been making everything more complicated than it is."

She took a breath. "Want to get pizza? My treat. I promise I won't friend-zone you."

Alex's answering smile was better than any notification. "Deal. But I'm picking the place."

"Deal."

As they ran toward his car through the rain, Maya finally understood: sometimes the sphinx's riddle isn't complicated at all. Sometimes the answer is just right there, waiting for you to be brave enough to say it out loud.