The Riddle of Freshman Friday

Maya dragged herself through the hallway feeling like a straight-up zombie. Three hours of sleep thanks to that history paper would do that to you. Her mom had shoved some chewy vitamin at her with breakfast like it would magically fix her entire existence.

"Hey, you good?" Marcus asked, falling into step beside her. He'd been her lifeline since she moved to this school last month.

"Barely," Maya muttered. "I think I see Tyler over there. You know, the fox everyone's been talking about?" She nodded toward the senior leaning against his locker like he owned the place. Tyler with the stupid perfect hair and the grin that made half the school lose their minds.

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Please. That guy is full of bull. Did you hear him telling everyone he 'almost' went viral?"

Maya laughed despite herself. "Everything about this school is so... extra. Like that weird sphinx statue in the courtyard? Why do we even have that?"

The bronze sphinx had been confusing her since day one. Some ancient principal's idea of making the school look "academic and mysterious." But today, something caught her eye—a folded note tucked between the stone paws. Her curiosity won over her zombie state.

"No way," she whispered, unfolding it. It wasn't a confession or a cheat code. It was just three words: "You don't have to perform."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Deep."

"No, seriously," Maya said, something clicking in her tired brain. "Maybe that's the whole riddle. We're all out here trying to be impressive, like Tyler with his bull stories, or me trying to be perfect at everything. Maybe the point is... we don't have to solve anything."

The bell rang. Students flooded the hallway—a sea of zombies moving toward first period. But for the first time, Maya didn't feel like she was faking it.

"You coming?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah," she said, actually smiling. "Let's go be unimpressive together."

The vitamin in her pocket remained uneaten. Some things you couldn't supplement your way out of. But this? This weird unexpected moment of clarity? That was real.