The Instagram Sphinx

Maya's thumbs hovered over her iPhone screen, heart doing that weird fluttery thing it always did when SHE posted. Like, actually SHE — Elena, the sphinx of sophomore year, the girl who'd transferred in three months ago and already owned the social hierarchy without even trying.

The padel courts stretched behind Elena's latest Instagram post, all turquoise and white and somehow intimidating. Caption read: "Sunday practice ✨ #padellife" Simple. Casual. The kind of effortless cool Maya had been faking since middle school.

"You're literally stalking again," JJ said from beside her, cracking his gum. "It's creepy, Mays."

"I'm not stalking, I'm researching," Maya shot back, though she definitely was stalking. "It's called due diligence before joining the club team, which SOME of us are trying to do."

"Mhmm." JJ didn't look up from his Switch. "Due diligence. Totally."

Lightning forked across the sky, rain suddenly pelting the roof of Maya's front porch. A stray cat — the orange tabby that lived somewhere on their street — bolted from under the bushes and stared at her with those judgmental cat eyes that said I know what you're doing and it's pathetic.

Whatever. The cat didn't understand high school dynamics.

The padel tryouts were in two days. Maya had been playing since freshman year, solid intermediate, but this was JV/VARSITY territory now. And Elena was apparently some kind of prodigy who'd played competitively in Spain or something, because of course she had.

Her iPhone buzzed.

Elena Ruiz: hey!! saw u were interested in padel? u should come to open court tomorrow

Maya stared at the message. JJ was laughing at something on his Switch. The orange cat had curled up on the porch railing, supremely unbothered. The storm raged on, all drama and noise, while Maya's brain quietly short-circuited.

"You good?" JJ asked, finally glancing over.

Maya's thumbs moved before she could overthink it.

Maya: yeah!! thanks that sounds awesome

The cat flicked its tail. Lightning flashed again, closer this time, and for once, Maya didn't feel like she was waiting for something to happen.

She texted back: what time?

Some sphinxes, it turned out, weren't riddles at all. They were just girls who happened to be excellent at padel and genuinely wanted teammates.