The Riddle in the Fiber

The coaxial **cable** behind my TV had been frayed for weeks, but I'd been too broke to replace it. Tonight, though, Riley was coming over for our first 'hangout' that wasn't just studying or group project stuff, and I couldn't have her watching pixelated Netflix while my mom judged from the kitchen.

I was midway through surgically applying electrical tape when Jupiter—my mom's obese orange **cat**—decided my nervous energy made me an ideal climbing structure. He leaped from the bookshelf, sending me backward into a tower of old DVDs. The cable snapped. Perfect.

"You good in there?" my brother called from his room.

"Fine!" I lied, staring at the useless wire dangling from the wall like a dead snake. This was it. This was the moment I'd been psyching myself up for all week—me and Riley, alone on the couch, maybe making a move—and I couldn't even get basic cable working.

My phone buzzed. *running 5 mins late, be there soon!*

I scrambled to the bathroom to check my reflection. Dark circles from gaming until 3 AM every night this week. Hair doing that weird flip thing on the left side. And—because the universe had a personal vendetta against my happiness—a bright green piece of **spinach** wedged between my front teeth from dinner.

Riley arrived while I was aggressively flossing. She found me in the living room, surrounded by tangled wires and a judgmentful Jupiter.

"Having technical difficulties?" She grinned, and I swear it was like looking directly at the sun.

"Something like that."

She dropped onto the couch, tucking her legs beneath her. "We could just talk. Unless talking to me is worse than cable TV?"

"No—yes—I mean—"

She laughed, and something in my chest loosened. "You're like a human **sphinx**, you know that? All these riddles, but never just saying what you mean."

I looked at her—really looked at her—and realized I'd been treating this whole thing like some mythological puzzle I needed to solve perfectly. But she was just Riley, who made terrible puns and watched the same trashy reality shows as me and didn't care if my cable worked or if my cat was an asshole.

"I like you," I said. "Like, really like you. And I'm terrified I'm going to mess this up."

Riley's smile softened. "Me too. That's the point, dumbass."

Jupiter chose that moment to knock over the wire spool, sending cable spiraling across the floor like a chaotic celebration. And honestly? It was perfect.