Sphinx Riddle Summer

Maya's **palm**s were sweating against her **iPhone** as she stared at the text from Chloe. "Party at 8. Everyone's gonna be there." Of course. The summer before freshman year, and Maya was still the quiet girl who'd rather binge-watch shows than actually talk to people.

Her mom worked at the museum, which meant Maya got stuck volunteer-ingreeting visitors. At least it was air-conditioned. She leaned against the glass case near the **sphinx** replica, scrolling through Instagram. Everyone else's life looked like a perfect **pyramid** of friends and fun moments, while hers was more like a pile of sand.

"You gonna stare at that phone all day, or actually help people?" A voice behind her made Maya jump. It was Leo, the cute junior who worked in the gift shop. He had this way of looking at her like he could see right through her awkwardness.

"Just... taking a break," Maya mumbled, shoving her phone in her pocket.

"Chloe's party tonight, right?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "You going?"

Maya shrugged. "Probably not. I'm not exactly party material."

Leo leaned against the exhibit case. "You know, the sphinx asked riddles to keep people out. But sometimes the scariest places are where you find the best stuff." He grinned. "Just saying."

Maya's **palm**s itched again, but not from nerves this time. "Since when are you philosophical?"

"Since I realized that pyramid of popularity is actually pretty lonely at the top." He checked his watch. "I'm picking up my friend Jordan. You wanna come? Promise we won't make you social." He winked.

Something in Maya's chest untwisted. "Actually... yeah. I think I'd like that."

As they walked out of the museum, Maya's phone buzzed again. She ignored it. Whatever happened at Chloe's party, she'd figure it out. Maybe the real riddle wasn't about fitting in—it was about finding people who didn't make you want to disappear behind a screen.