The Social Media Sphinx

Maya's thumb hovered over the follow button for the third time that night. She felt like a total spy, creeping through Jordan's Instagram at 2 AM, double-tapping photos from six months ago. His golden retriever, his skateboarding fails, that sunset post captioned "no filter" — she'd memorized them all.

"You're doing it again," her phone lit up. A text from Kai. They'd been best friends since the goldfish incident in third grade, when Maya had accidentally freed the entire classroom aquarium into the school drinking fountain. Kai had taken the blame. That's what best friends did.

"Not doing anything," Maya typed back, knowing Kai could see right through her.

"The Sphinx knows," Kai replied.

The Sphinx was their name for the ancient, mysterious girl who sat alone at lunch, always reading, always watching. Nobody knew her real name. She'd transferred to their school mid-semester and somehow knew everyone's secrets without ever speaking to anyone. Last week, Maya had caught her staring straight at her during lunch, like she was solving some cosmic riddle.

Monday, Jordan finally sat next to Maya in homeroom. Her heart did that ridiculous fluttery thing. He leaned in close, smelling like cedar and something expensive.

"Hey, you're Maya, right?"

"Yeah," she managed, and then her brain completely short-circuited.

"I was wondering," he said, all casual confidence, "if you'd help me with the English project? I heard you're good at that symbolism stuff."

By Wednesday, they were partners. By Friday, they'd spent three hours "studying" at the coffee shop, which mostly involved Jordan talking about himself and Maya nodding like a goldfish-mouthed idiot, grateful for any crumbs of attention.

Saturday night, her phone buzzed. It was the Sphinx.

"He doesn't know your last name."

Maya stared. "Who is this?"

"Someone who's been watching. Jordan's using you for the English project. Ask him what he thinks about the book we're reading."

Maya's stomach dropped. Monday, she asked Jordan. His face went blank.

"The book? Yeah, it's... deep."

"What's your favorite part?"

"The symbolism," he said, and the way he smiled, all teeth and no warmth, made her feel hollowed out.

"You don't know what it's about, do you?"

"I will once we finish the project," he shrugged, and suddenly Maya couldn't breathe.

She found Kai at their usual lunch table. "He doesn't even care. About the project. About anything."

"I know," Kai said quietly. "I was waiting for you to see it."

The Sphinx walked past their table, and this time Maya saw her clearly — a girl named Sam, from her history class, who'd been watching out for her the whole time. Sam gave her the smallest nod before walking away.

"Real friends tell you the truth," Kai said, sliding over a notebook. "Even when it's not what you want to hear. Now, want to make fun of Jordan's presentation together?"

Maya grinned, and for the first time in weeks, she felt like she could actually breathe. "Absolutely. Every awkward pause. Every mispronounced word. We should take notes."