Stone Cold Crush

My palms were sweating so much I could barely grip the putter. Thanks, anxiety. The hole was literally three feet away, but somehow felt three miles.

"You're gonna bear with me on this one, right?" Marcus joked, loud enough for everyone at Maya's birthday party to hear. Because awkward middle school moments aren't complete without an audience.

I groaned. "Please never say that again."

But I couldn't even focus on roasting Marcus because SHE was watching. Sophie. The girl who'd been sitting by the old cracked **sphinx** statue in Maya's backyard all afternoon, reading some thick paperback with the cover torn off. She was like an actual sphinx—mysterious, unreadable, and honestly kinda intimidating.

What was she reading? Why was she at this party instead of hanging out with everyone else? Why did my stomach do that weird flip thing whenever she looked in my direction?

"Your turn," Maya called out. "Don't choke, Danny."

I lined up the shot. The sphinx seemed to be staring right at me with that weird stone smile. I could feel Sophie's eyes too. My hand shook. The ball ricocheted off the rim and rolled straight into the decorative **palm** plant.

"Smooth," Marcus wheezed.

I wanted to disappear. But then I heard it—this tiny snort of laughter. Not mean laughter. Actual real laughter. Sophie had closed her book and was watching me with this tiny, genuine smile.

"That was honestly impressive," she said. "I didn't know golf balls could climb trees."

I shrugged, trying to play it cool even though my heart was hammering. "I'm just talented like that."

"What are you reading?" I asked, before I could overthink it.

She held up the book. "Mythology. The sphinx was my mom's favorite. She said sometimes the riddles aren't as important as the person asking them."

I blinked. "That's... weirdly deep for a birthday party."

"Yeah well." She shrugged. "I'm weirdly deep for a birthday party."

And just like that, the mysterious sphinx became a real person. My sweaty palms didn't matter. The missed putt didn't matter. Sophie was still watching me, but for the first time, I didn't mind being seen.