Sphinx of the Pool Party

Maya's palms were sweating so much she was probably leaving actual puddles on the plastic folding chair. Which would be fine, except she was wearing that ridiculous straw hat her mom had insisted on — the one with the brim that kept trying to launch itself off her head every time she nodded.

"You look fine," said Chloe, popping open an orange soda. The can's snap-hiss sounded like a gunshot in the awkward silence. "He's not gonna notice your hat. He's probably too busy being all mysterious and Egyptian-themed."

"He's literally wearing linen shirts and reading mythology books at lunch, Chloe. He's not mysterious, he's just... weirdly committed to a bit."

"The bit is working for him."

Maya stared across the pool at where Kieran sat on the diving board, book open, legs dangling. His dark curls caught the afternoon light. Last week, he'd shown up to school wearing that silver ankh necklace and somehow made it look cool instead of like something from a discount Halloween store.

The sphinx garden statue behind him — his family's house, obviously — stared out over the water with that enigmatic half-smile. Maya had spent way too much time last night googling "sphinx riddle meanings" instead of studying for her bio exam. At this point, she was pretty sure the sphinx was laughing at her specifically.

"Go talk to him," Chloe said, like it was that simple. Like Maya wasn't constantly replaying every interaction she'd ever had with anyone ever, analyzing each for maximum cringe potential.

"I can't just go over there. What would I even say? 'Nice sphinx? Cool riddle game, bro?'"

"Okay, first off, never say 'cool riddle game, bro' to anyone ever. Second —" Chloe shoved her shoulder "—he literally keeps looking over here."

Maya's heart did something complicated and terrible.

"He's probably wondering why I'm wearing a sunhat the size of a small vehicle."

"Or maybe he's trying to work up the courage to talk to YOU."

"Unlikely."

"You don't know that."

"I do know that. I'm Maya Johnson, who said 'you too' when the cafeteria lady told her to enjoy her lunch. I'm not exactly smooth."

Then Kieran looked up from his book and their eyes met across the pool and Maya's palms were sweating again and her hat was probably trying to escape and this was fine, everything was fine, she wasn't dying at all actually.

He smiled. A real one, not the Sphinx's carved approximation.

Maya stood up. Her heart was hammering. The hat stayed miraculously put.

"Wish me luck," she whispered.

"Go get 'em," Chloe grinned.

As Maya walked toward the diving board, she thought: maybe riddles weren't about having all the answers. Maybe they were about being brave enough to ask the questions.