The Riddle in the Dugout

Maya's palms were sweating. Again. She wiped them on her jeans—third time in five minutes—and tried to look casual leaning against the chain-link fence. The baseball team was finishing up practice, and somewhere between home plate and the pitcher's mound, Cody was stretching, his backward cap catching the golden hour light just right.

"You're doing it again," Chloe said, appearing beside her with a dramatic eye roll. "The palm sweat thing. It's practically a language at this point."

Maya jumped. "I'm not—okay, maybe I'm nervous. Tonight's the party of the century, Chlo. If I don't talk to him, I'm literally going to perish."

"Then talk to him," Chloe said, like it was that simple. "He's just a guy who happens to be a baseball god with a smile that could end wars. No biggie."

Cody glanced their way, and Maya immediately became fascinated by a nonexistent spot on the ground. Smooth. Real smooth.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. A text from Jordan: emergency in the gym. come now. sphinx situation.

"Sphinx situation?" Maya repeated aloud. "What does that even mean?"

Chloe's eyes went wide. "Oh no. Not again."

They sprinted to the gym, where Jordan was pacing in front of a half-built prop set for the upcoming spring dance. The theme was "Mystical Nights," and someone—presumably someone who'd never heard of a budget—had decided a giant sphinx statue would be absolutely essential for the photo backdrop.

The sphinx's papier-mâché face had cracked down the middle. One eye was falling off. It looked like it'd seen some things.

"My brother's supposed to ask his crush to dance in front of this thing tomorrow," Jordan groaned, gesturing helplessly at the disaster. "If this sphinx doesn't get fixed, his social life is officially over."

Maya stared at the broken sphinx, then at her trembling hands. The same hands that couldn't even hold a conversation with Cody without turning into a slip-n-slide. But this—this was something she could actually do. She'd taken AP Art for a reason.

"Get me the mod podge," Maya said, her voice steadier than she felt. "And don't look at me like that—I've got this."

Two hours later, the sphinx looked better than new. Maya had even painted gold flecks in its eyes that caught the gym lights like tiny stars. Jordan was literally crying with relief. Chloe was taking seventeen different pictures for her finsta.

"You're like, actually amazing," Chloe said as they walked home under the streetlamps. "I'm not even being sarcastic for once."

Maya looked at her palms—still, calm, capable. They'd created something today. Fixed something. Made something better.

Her phone buzzed again. Unknown number: hey this is cody from baseball practice. saw you at the fence earlier. you heading to the party tonight? my friend jordan said you're cool

Maya's palms started sweating again.

But this time, she didn't wipe them on her jeans.