Sphinx Riddles and Baseball Diamonds

Marcus's iphone buzzed against his thigh, but he couldn't check it—not with the baseball game tied at the bottom of the seventh. The whole student section was watching. Coach had finally put him in as a pinch hitter, and his hands were sweating through his batting gloves.

"You got this, rook," said Tyrell, the senior shortstop, bumping fists with him.

But Marcus's mind was elsewhere. Yesterday, Tyrell had tried to recruit him into some sketchy "success pyramid" scheme, promising Marcus could make five figures monthly if he just recruited three friends, who recruited three friends, who recruited three friends... The math hadn't mathed, and Marcus had dipped faster than a cat encountering a cucumber.

Now here he was, facing the same guy who'd tried to hustle him, while his crush Chloe watched from the bleachers.

The pitcher wound up and fired. Strike one.

Marcus stepped out, breathing. His phone buzzed again—probably Chloe. They'd been talking all week, ever since she'd sat next to him in history and started dropping Sphinx-level riddles that his brain had actually been able to solve. What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening? The answer was "humans," but the real question was: why was the smartest girl in school suddenly interested in him?

The pitch came. Marcus's swing connected—*crack*—and the ball sailed toward the gap in left-center. He was sprinting so hard his legs burned, sliding safely into third with a triple. The crowd went absolutely wild.

"BRO!" Tyrell yelled, grinning from second base. "That's what I'm talking about!"

After the game—his team won—Marcus finally checked his phone. Chloe had sent him a picture of her cat sitting next to a history textbook open to the Pyramids of Giza. The caption read: "Some riddles are easier than others. This one's multiple choice: A) Study date, B) Study date, or C) Study date?"

Marcus stood by the dugout, grinning like an idiot, feeling like he'd hit a home run in more ways than one.