Sphinx of the Shallow End

The water glowed blue from the underwater lights, casting rippling shadows across everyone's faces. Maya leaned against the side of the pool, nursing her second soda of the night, feeling like she'd been expertly faking social butterfly status for approximately three hours too long.

"You look like you're solving the mysteries of the universe," someone said.

Maya jumped. A guy in a soaking wet Clash shirt sat on the pool edge behind her.

"Just wondering if it's socially acceptable to leave yet without looking like a loser," she said, because apparently her filter had dissolved along with her patience.

He laughed. "Jordan's mom ordered, like, four pizzas. Low-key the only reason half of us are still here."

That's when she noticed him—a guy sitting alone on the diving board, legs crossed like he was meditating or some deep stuff. "Who's that?"

"Leo." The guy followed her gaze. "Total sphinx. Been coming to these things since middle school, never says more than three sentences to anyone."

A sphinx. Riddles and silence and impossible questions.

Maya watched Leo kick at the water lazily. "What's his deal?"

"Nobody knows. Tried talking to him last year at Emma's party. Asked him about music, he just stared at me like I'd grown a second head and said, 'Depends.'"

"Depends on what?"

"Exactly. Dude speaks in riddles."

Something about that clicked with Maya—the way Leo seemed content in his own orbit while the rest of them were performing like their lives depended on it. She grabbed two slices of pizza from the box on the patio table and walked over to the diving board.

Leo didn't look up as she approached, just kept watching the water ripple around his feet.

"Peace offering," Maya said, holding out a slice.

He glanced at the pizza, then at her. Something flickered behind his eyes—surprise, maybe, or amusement. "Depends."

"Depends on what?"

"On whether it's pepperoni."

She laughed before she could stop herself. "It's pepperoni. Extra cheesy."

Leo took the slice. "Then I accept."

They sat there, dripping pool water and eating pizza while Jordan's playlist thumped from somewhere inside. No pressure to perform, no need to be funny or interesting or anything but real.

"So," Maya said, "what's the riddle?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "You're the one who came over here."

"Fair point." She thought about it. "Okay. Why's a sphinx sitting alone at a pool party instead of, you know, being mysterious somewhere else?"

Leo actually smiled. It was small, but real. "Because sometimes the riddle isn't the question. Sometimes the riddle is finding someone who doesn't need the answer."

Maya's chest did something weird and fluttery. She took a bite of pizza to hide it.

"I'm Maya," she said.

"Leo." He held out his free hand. "Potential friend."

She took it. His palm was warm and slightly chlorine-scented. "Potential friend accepted."

Later that night, as they finally got out of the pool when the rest of the party was winding down, Maya realized she'd spent two hours talking to someone and hadn't once worried about saying the wrong thing. Leo wasn't a sphinx after all—or maybe he was, but she'd figured out his riddle.

Some friends didn't need you to solve them. They just needed you to show up and sit on their diving board with pepperoni pizza.

That was the best riddle answer she'd heard all summer.