Sphinx in the Deep End

Leo's summer break was shaping up to be a total flop until his neighbor Mrs. Chen offered him fifty bucks to feed her cat, Sphinx, while she visited her grandkids. "Just don't let him outside," she'd said, like the hairless cat was some master criminal. Which, honestly, he kind of was.

The real perk wasn't the cash—it was the pool. Mrs. Chen's backyard was straight-up tropical, with palm trees swaying over the crystal-blue water like something out of a movie. Leo started sneaking over there every afternoon, telling himself he was just checking on Sphinx, but really he was practicing his dives and trying not to think about how Maya's baseball cap kept falling off during practice, revealing her hair in that way that made his stomach do actual gymnastics.

Then came the day he found the cable. Thick and black, snaking through the azaleas like an oily snake, connecting Mrs. Chen's house to—his house. His dad, the cable guy who'd sworn they'd get free internet "any day now," had apparently helped himself to Mrs. Chen's connection months ago.

Leo was mid-splash when Maya appeared at the fence, baseball glove on her hand like she'd just walked off the field.

"Your dad stealing cable again?" she asked, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Leo surfaced, sputtering. "What? No. I'm just—"

"—feeding the cat." She grinned, and that was it. He was toast.

"Sphinx actually escaped yesterday," Leo said, treading water. "Mrs. Chen never noticed. I think he's living under her deck now."

Maya laughed, and Leo forgot everything—forgot about the cable, forgot about being the weird kid who talked to cats, forgot about how his summer was supposed to suck.

"Wanna search for him?" she asked. "Before your dad gets disconnected for good?"

"Only if you promise not to tell anyone I can't actually dive," Leo said.

"Deal." She pulled a bag of treats from her pocket. "Sphinx likes these more than freedom anyway."

They found the cat twenty minutes later, curled up on a patio chair like he owned the place. Sphinx ignored them completely, which somehow felt perfect. Some things weren't meant to be solved—just experienced.

"Tomorrow?" Maya asked at the fence, baseball cap back in place.

"Tomorrow," Leo said, and for the first time all summer, he couldn't wait.