The Riddle of the Lunch Table

Maya's hair was supposed to be sunset copper. Instead, it looked like a traffic cone had thrown up on her head. The box promised "subtle orange highlights" but apparently the manufacturer had never met a Black girl's hair before. Now she had three hours before Theo's party and zero time for a color fix.

"You look... vibrant," her mom said, sliding a bowl of spinach salad across the counter. "Eat your greens. They're good for your skin."

"Mom, I can't show up looking like a living Cheeto," Maya groaned, grabbing a fork. "Theo's going to think I'm trying too hard."

"Theo sent you a Sphinx riddle as a party invitation," her mom pointed out. "I think he likes smart girls who take risks."

Maya rolled her eyes but took a bite of spinach. Theo was different—he'd found an old Egyptian mythology book at a thrift store and decided his birthday theme should be "mysteries and riddles." Everyone else got a normal invite. Maya got: *What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in evening?*

She'd googled it immediately. The answer was "man"—or, in this case, one very nervous teenage girl about to make a fool of herself.

At the party, Theo's basement glowed with fairy lights and posters of pyramids. Maya's orange hair caught every beam, making her look like she'd arrived fresh from the sun. She spent twenty minutes hiding near the snack table until Theo appeared, wearing a pharaoh headdress made from gold spray-painted cardboard.

"You came!" His face lit up. "Your hair looks awesome. Like, really awesome."

Maya felt herself actually blushing under all that attention. "Yeah, well, the box lied to me."

"No, seriously." He stepped closer. "It's brave. I like people who don't play it safe."

Someone called Theo's name from across the room. He turned, then looked back. "Hey, you have a little—" He gestured to his own teeth. "Spinach, I think?"

Maya's stomach dropped. She'd been hiding spinach in her teeth for twenty minutes. While trying to play it cool.

"But you know what?" Theo grinned. "The sphinx would've respected the confidence."

He didn't walk away. He handed her a napkin instead. "There's more punch in the kitchen if you want to hang out there. Away from the crowd."

Maya wiped the spinach from her teeth and followed him, orange hair and all. Some disasters were worth it, she decided. The riddle wasn't the answer—the answer was showing up anyway, traffic cone hair and all.