Summer of the Sphinx

Jordan's summer was supposed to be about vibing with friends and maybe finally texting Kai from chemistry class. Instead, she was stuck at her grandma's house in the middle of nowhere, where the only thing more mysterious than Kai's sudden Instagram silence was the ancient Egyptian book her grandma kept showing her.

"Look at this sphinx, Jordi," Grandma said, pointing to a weathered photograph. "She knew her worth. Didn't let nobody treat her like she wasn't royalty."

Jordan rolled her eyes but secretly loved how Grandma turned everything into a lesson. Like last week, when Jordan's cousin tried convincing her to join some pyramid scheme selling "wellness essential oils" to classmates. Grandma had shut that down real quick.

"The only pyramid you need is the food pyramid," she'd said. "And even that's outdated."

Now Jordan sat on the porch, petting Grandma's ancient cat named Bear (ironic, since he weighed about eight pounds and slept 20 hours a day). Her phone buzzed – a group chat blowing up about some party she wasn't invited to. The FOMO hit different when you were miles from civilization.

"You bear-ing up okay?" Grandma appeared with lemonade.

"Yeah," Jordan lied, scrolling through stories that made her feel like she was missing everything.

Grandma sat beside her. "You know what I learned when I was your age? That some days you just need your vitamin. Not the pill kind – the vitamin of being exactly who you are, even when who you are feels like not enough."

Bear the cat chose that moment to jump into Jordan's lap, purring like a tiny motor.

"You're so corny, Grandma," Jordan said, but she smiled.

That night, Jordan finally texted Kai. Not some perfect curated message, but real: "Stuck with my grandma and her cat named Bear. Send help."

His response came immediately: "lol that sounds epic. want me to call?"

Maybe this summer wouldn't be so terrible after all.