The Riddle of Senior Year

Maya dragged herself into AP English feeling like a literal zombie. Three hours of sleep, four energy drinks, and zero brain cells remaining. Finals week at Northwood High was basically survival of the fittest, and Maya was definitely not thriving.

"You look like death," whispered Jordan, sliding into the desk beside her. Jordan was her cat—like, her person, her ride-or-die since freshman year when they'd bonded over shared misery in gym class.

"Thanks," Maya deadpanned. "Mr. Henderson's giving us that in-class essay today. The sphinx riddle one."

The sphinx assignment was legendary at Northwood. Basically, you had to write about the biggest riddle you'd solved in your life. Maya had nothing. Her biggest solved mystery was why the cafeteria pizza always tasted like cardboard.

Then she saw him.

Caleb walked in looking like he owned the place, his perfectly messed-up hair doing that thing that made Maya's stomach do backflips. They'd been flirting for months, but ever since the homecoming disaster, he'd been acting distant. Yesterday, she'd finally texted him: "What's your deal?" And he'd left her on read.

Classic bull behavior.

"Okay everyone," Mr. Henderson announced. "You have forty-five minutes. Go."

Maya stared at the blank page. The biggest riddle she'd solved? She thought about Caleb, about how boys were basically unsolvable mysteries wrapped in hoodies and mixed signals. How her parents thought she was breezing through senior year when she was actually drowning. How everyone expected her to have it all figured out.

The riddle wasn't one thing—it was everything.

She started writing. About the sphinx in her head, the voice asking "Who are you?" About the bull-shit expectations of being seventeen. About being a zombie surviving on caffeine and hopes. About her cat Jordan, who kept her sane when everything felt impossible.

The bell rang. Maya handed in her paper, surprisingly proud.

Outside, Caleb was waiting.

"Hey," he said, scratching his neck. "Sorry about yesterday. My phone died."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Bull."

"Yeah, okay." He grinned, that annoyingly cute one. "You doing anything later?"

Maybe life's biggest riddle wasn't meant to be solved. Maybe you just had to live through the mystery of it all—zombie mode and all.