The Pool Party Sphinx

I stared at my reflection, wanting to cry. My hair. My gorgeous, waist-length hair that I'd spent three years growing out—gone. Chopped off into this awkward, chin-length bob that made me look like a confused mushroom.

"You look sophisticated," my mom had said when I stumbled out of the salon, but she'd used that careful voice that meant she was lying.

Now here I was at Sophie's end-of-summer pool party, three days before starting high school, trying to decide if I could just not go in the water forever. Sophie's older brother Chase was there, looking unfairly hot even while eating a hot upside down. This was supposed to be my big entrance into cool kid territory, and instead I looked like a middle school principal.

I slid into the pool, letting the water cover my head. Down here, everything was muffled and peaceful. No one could see me. No one could see the haircut.

When I came up for air, this guy was standing at the edge, watching me. He had messy dark curls and the most intense green eyes I'd ever seen.

"You stayed under for exactly 47 seconds," he said. "What were you thinking about?"

"My terrible life choices," I said before I could stop myself.

He smiled. It was a lopsided thing that made my stomach do this weird little flip. "I'm Leo. And I'm going to guess this has something to do with the fact that you haven't taken your hair out of that towel since you arrived."

Okay, rude. But also weirdly perceptive.

"What are you, some kind of mind reader?" I asked, tugging the towel tighter around my head.

"No." He sat down at the edge, dangling his feet in the water. "I'm just observant. My friends call me 'the sphinx' because I notice things and ask annoying questions."

"Like what?"

"Like..." He studied my face, and I felt weirdly exposed. "What's the bravest thing you've ever done?"

The question caught me off guard. I thought about it for a second, water dripping down my back.

"I let a stylist with questionable eyebrows talk me into cutting off twelve inches of my hair three days before my first high school party," I said finally.

Leo laughed, and it was this genuine sound that made me want to make him laugh again. "That is objectively not brave. That is a tactical error."

"Thanks. Really."

"But." His expression softened. "Coming to the party anyway? That part's brave."

I slowly unwrapped the towel from my head. My hair sprung out in this awkward triangle shape that was definitely not what I asked for. I waited for him to look away or make a face.

Instead, he just nodded. "See? Bravery."

"It looks terrible, though."

"It looks different." He stood up. "Hey, want to get out of here? There's this ice cream place down the street."

"I don't even know you."

"I'm the sphinx, remember?" He grinned. "I figure out riddles. You figure out whether your hair's actually that bad or if you're just freaking out because everything's about to change."

I looked at Sophie's house, where all the cool kids were being loud and perfect. Then I looked at Leo, with his too-intense eyes and unexpected kindness.

"Ice cream sounds good," I said, pulling myself out of the water.

My hair was still a disaster. High school was still going to be terrifying in three days. But somehow, standing there dripping wet while this strange boy waited for me, I felt like maybe—just maybe—I could figure out the answers to whatever riddles came next.