The Ethernet Cable Confession

Maya's laptop kept disconnecting during her AP History presentation, right when she was explaining ancient Egypt. The whole class watched as she fumbled with the ethernet **cable** behind her desk, her face burning hotter than the Sahara she was supposed to be discussing.

"Nice riddle, O Great **Sphinx**," Jordan called from the back row. The class erupted. Jordan Chen, who made everything look effortless, whose Instagram stories Maya had been "accidentally" checking three times daily since September. She'd become such an expert at social media **spy** work that she knew his coffee order, his dog's name, and that he'd watched Dear White People four times.

"Real mature, Jordan," Maya muttered, finally jamming the cable in place. Her presentation resumed, but her mind was stuck on Jordan's comment. The sphinx—guardian of secrets, poser of impossible riddles, the creature that devoured those who couldn't solve its mysteries.

That evening, Maya sat on her bed, phone in hand, hovering over Jordan's profile. She'd been spying for months, collecting data like some CIA operative, but what was she actually doing with it? The sphinx's riddle echoed in her head: What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening? The answer was "man"—humanity, in all its stages.

Maybe the real riddle was why she was still lurking.

Her thumb moved before her brain could stop it. She followed him.

Thirty seconds later: Jordan Chen is following you.

Maya's heart did something genuinely concerning. A DM appeared: "So are you gonna roast me for that sphinx comment or what"

She typed: "Only if you admit ethernet cables are objectively the worst thing about school presentations"

"Deal. Also I was impressed you knew so much about Egypt. That presentation was fire"

Maya grinned. The cable had disconnected her presentation, but somehow, it had connected something else.

The sphinx would approve. Some riddles solve themselves when you stop hiding behind the screen.