The Riddle of Locker 417

Maya's stomach did that awful flip-flop thing every time she passed him in the hallway—Jason, aka the Fox, because the guy could charm his way out of literally anything. Last week he'd convinced Ms. Patterson that his dog ate his homework. Who even has a dog that eats paper anymore?

"He's looking at you," whispered Lena, her best friend since sixth grade, doing a terrible job of pretending to be interested in her history textbook.

"Shut up, he's not."

"He so is. You're like a sphinx with all these mysteries around you. He's intrigued."

Maya rolled her eyes so hard it actually hurt. The only mystery about her was why she'd stuck with the same messy bun hairstyle since seventh grade. But Jason—she'd catch him watching her during lunch, those thoughtful hazel eyes that made her overthink everything.

Her phone buzzed. Unknown number. You doing anything Friday?

Her thumbs hovered over the screen. This was it. The moment. Heart pounding like she'd downed three espressos.

Before she could type something cool and casual, her cat Cricket launched herself from the bookshelf, landing directly on Maya's phone. The send button got pressed.

Sure!

Too eager. The ultimate middle school sin. She wanted to die.

"Cricket!" The cat just blinked at her with those judgy yellow eyes and started grooming her tail like nothing had happened.

Friday arrived wrapped in anxiety and her sister's borrowed eyeshadow. Jason took her to the boardwalk, where they played arcade games and shared cotton candy that turned their fingers pink. They ended up at the pier, watching the water reflect the carnival lights.

"I've been wanting to hang out with you forever," he admitted, looking nervous for the first time ever.

"Really? Why?"

"You're not like everyone else. You're actually interesting. Most girls here? They've got the attention span of a goldfish. But you—you read actual books. You ask questions. You think about stuff."

Maya felt that weird warm feeling spreading through her chest, the one that made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. Maybe being different wasn't so terrible after all.

"You know," she said, watching the waves roll in beneath them, "I thought you were out of my league."

Jason laughed—that genuine laugh that made his nose crinkle. "Maya, I'm literally failing algebra. You're not exactly missing out."

She laughed too, and for the first time in forever, the sphinx's riddle had been solved. Sometimes the thing you're overthinking is actually the thing that's already working itself out.