The Riddle of the Snapback

Maya stood in front of her bathroom mirror, clutching the vitamin D supplement her mom swore would help with her "seasonal mood issues." Yeah, right. The only thing affecting her mood was the fact that in twenty minutes, she'd be at Jordan's party, surrounded by the popular crowd who somehow made everything look effortless.

She adjusted her dad's old trucker hat—pulled low, just enough to hide behind but not so low that she looked like she was trying too hard. Or was that exactly what trying too hard looked like? Ugh.

"You got this," she whispered to her reflection, then immediately felt cringe for talking to herself.

The party was already popping when she arrived. Jordan's basement was transformed into something vaguely Egyptian-themed for his birthday—gold streamers, a paper pyramid in the corner, and somehow, a plastic sphinx statue that stared blankly at everyone from the snack table. Maya snagged a soda and posted up against the wall, classic wallflower mode activated.

That's when she saw him: Caleb, the guy she'd been lowkey crushing on since September, standing way too close to the plastic sphinx. He was wearing this ridiculous beanie indoors, and she had to suppress a laugh because why was that cute?

Then their eyes met. Actually, no—she was staring, and he caught her. Abort mission.

But he smiled and walked over. "Hey, aren't you in Mr. Harrison's English class?"

Maya's brain short-circuited. "Uh, yeah. The class where we had to write that essay about Ozymandias?"

"Dude, that poem was so depressing." He gestured at the plastic sphinx. "This guy's giving me major 'look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair' energy right now."

She laughed—a real one, not the polite fake laugh she used with adults. "Honestly, same. Especially after that chemistry test today."

"You failed too?" He seemed genuinely relieved. "I thought I was the only one who's gonna need to sell my soul to pass that class."

"My mom's already got me on like, five vitamins to help with 'academic focus,'" Maya said, gesturing to her pockets. "Spoiler: they don't work."

Caleb grinned, and something shifted—maybe it was the basement lighting, maybe it was the fact that he wasn't at all what she expected, but the hat she'd been hiding behind suddenly felt unnecessary. She pushed it back.

"Wanna diss the sphinx over by the snacks?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

And just like that, Maya wasn't hiding anymore. The vitamin could wait—she'd found something better.