The Riddle of sophomore year

Maya dragged herself into homeroom feeling like a straight-up **zombie**. Three hours of sleep + AP Bio test + her mom's new 'wellness journey' meant she'd survived on espresso shots and whatever was in those chalky supplements her mom kept pushing.

'You look like death,' whispered Priya, sliding into the desk beside her. 'Rough night?'

'My mom has me on this new **vitamin** regimen,' Maya groaned, face-planting onto her folded arms. 'I think she's trying to cure my teenage angst.'

Priya snorted. 'Speaking of toxic things, have you heard about Skylar's new 'business opportunity'?'

Maya lifted her head slightly. 'The lip gloss **pyramid scheme'?'

'It's NOT a pyramid scheme, it's MULTILEVEL MARKETING,' Skylar announced from across the room, appearing like she'd teleported. 'And you'd be perfect, Maya. Your skin has such... potential.'

'Pass,' Maya said. 'I'm good.'

But Skylar was relentless. By lunch, she'd cornered Maya near the lockers with a glossy catalog and eyes that seemed to hold secrets.

'The real money isn't in the gloss,' Skylar lowered her voice. 'It's in the opportunity.'

Something weird flashed behind Skylar's perfectly mascara'd eyes—like a **sphinx** posing riddles in the desert, all mystery and dangerous knowledge. 'What would you do if you could make enough money to get out of here?' she asked quietly.

Maya's chest tightened. 'What do you mean, 'out of here'?'

'You know what I mean.' Skylar's phone buzzed. She glanced at it, then back at Maya with something like understanding. 'We're not so different, you know. We're both playing roles we didn't choose.'

The bell rang, but something had shifted. Maybe Skylar wasn't just another popular girl with a side hustle. Maybe they were all just faking it—zombies walking through high school with different masks, sphinxes guarding secrets, pyramids of expectations built on nothing real.

That night, Maya dumped the vitamins in the trash. Some things you have to figure out for yourself.