The Riddle of Kara's Palm

First party of sophomore year. My palms were so sweaty I could practically water plants with them. Running through my mental checklist: don't spill anything, don't say anything weird, definitely don't mention that I still watch anime.

Then there was Kara. She was by the fake sphinx statue someone's rich parents had in their backyard—classy, right? Like ancient Egypt meets TikTok aesthetic.

I'd been crushing on her since seventh grade when she beat me in the school spelling bee because I choked on "definitely" and she somehow nailed "pomegranate" like it was nothing.

"Cool sphinx," I said. Then immediately wanted to die. Who says that?

Kara laughed, though. "Yeah, it's been here forever. My mom thinks it's 'culturally significant.' I think it's just creepy."

Her hair was caught in the wind, and I realized I was staring.

"You want me to read your palm?" she asked suddenly. "My grandma taught me. It's totally bogus but kinda fun."

Before I could process what was happening, she'd grabbed my hand. Her fingers were warm.

"Hmm," she said, tracing the lines. "You're going to be famous. And you have a very... interesting love line."

"Interesting good or interesting like I'm going to die alone with seventeen cats?"

She grinned. "Good interesting. But you're going to have to work for it. Nothing worth having comes easy, right?"

My heart was basically doing jumping jacks.

Then someone shouted that the cops were coming and suddenly everyone was running toward the back fence like we'd committed actual crimes instead of just being loud teenagers in a suburban neighborhood.

Kara grabbed my hand. "Come on, fox. Don't get caught."

Fox. She called me fox.

We made it over the fence just as sirens echoed in the distance. Breathless, adrenaline pumping, sitting on the curb in someone else's neighborhood while her phone buzzed with texts from friends.

"That was the worst escape ever," she said, laughing. "But kind of fun, right?"

I looked at my palm where she'd traced those imaginary lines. For the first time, high school didn't feel like some elaborate test I was failing.

"Yeah," I said. "Kind of fun."

The sphinx riddle wasn't solved, but I had a feeling that wasn't the point. Some mysteries are worth figuring out slowly.