Summer of the Sphinx

Maya's summer job at the concession stand was supposed to be chill — just serving snacks and watching the baseball games from the best seat in the stadium. But then Javier walked in, wearing that vintage baseball jersey like he owned the place, and suddenly her palms were sweating and her brain had turned into something resembling a smashed papaya.

"You're the new sphinx," he said, sliding two dollars across the counter. "Nobody's ever figured out how to get extra napkins from you without asking."

Maya blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The sphinx." Javier grinned, and okay, his smile was definitely not fair. "Mysterious. Unreadable. Also, I'm pretty sure you're secretly intelligent and deadly."

"I'm not deadly," she said, handing him the napkins anyway. "I just don't like small talk."

"Same. Let's never talk about weather again." He pointed at his friends across the stadium. "That's my cousin Mateo, and that's Sofia, who thinks she's better than everyone because she actually understands baseball statistics. They're my friends, obviously, but sometimes I wonder if they'd notice if I just... left."

Maya felt something twist in her chest. She knew that feeling — the one where you're surrounded by people but still feel like you're screaming into a void. "I get that," she said quietly.

"Yeah?" His eyes lit up. "What's your deal, sphinx?"

"My deal is that I'm working minimum wage while my friends are at the beach, and my mom keeps sending me texts asking if I've 'made any nice friends yet.'" Maya rolled her eyes, but she was smiling a little now. "Also, my ex-best friend keeps posting stories with her new squad, and every time I see them having fun without me, I want to throw my phone into the ocean."

"Oof." Javier winced. "That's rough. Want me to key her car?"

"You don't even know her name."

"Details." He leaned closer. "Look, Maya the Sphinx — my friends are having a party Friday. No parents, no judgment, and I promise nobody will ask about your feelings unless you want them to. You in?"

For the first time all summer, Maya didn't feel like something her little brother would wipe on his shirt. "Maybe," she said, and Javier's answering smile made her think this summer wasn't going to be so terrible after all.

Later that night, her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number: sphinx? really? r u coming or what

Maya grinned in the dark. Maybe papaya brains weren't so bad after all.