The Sphinx at Midnight

Maya's hair was supposed to be galaxy purple. Instead, it looked like a grape had exploded on her head.

"You look like a vampire who just woke up at 2 PM," said Jaden, leaning against the bathroom doorframe, chewing on those strawberry gummy vitamins his mom made him take because he "needed to grow." He tossed one to Maya. She caught it, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up. This is part of my glow-up era." She smeared more dye, her bathroom mirror reflecting someone who felt like a stranger. Sixteen should've come with a manual, or at least better lighting.

They were meeting at the Sphinx — this creepy statue behind the community center that everyone called "the spot" because where else were you supposed to go when your parents thought you were at each other's houses? The Sphinx's stone face had been vandalized so many times it now wore a permanent spray-painted smirk, like it knew all your secrets before you did.

"Why are we even going?" Maya asked, suddenly nervous. Her stomach did that thing where it felt like her organs were rearranging themselves.

"Because Riley's going to be there." Jaden raised his eyebrows. "And you've been obsessing over Riley since last year's spring formal when they wore that suit with the—"

"OKAY, I get it." Maya's face burned. Riley was smart, mysterious, impossible to read. A literal sphinx in human form.

Outside, the air smelled like rain and someone's older brother smoking something questionable behind the parking garage. A fox darted across the street — not the cute Disney kind, but a real one, ribs showing, eyes glowing in the streetlamp. It paused, watching them with this look that said *I know you're pretending to be someone you're not.* Then it vanished into darkness.

"Did you see that?" Maya whispered.

"See what?" Jaden was already walking ahead.

The Sphinx was empty except for Riley, sitting cross-legged on the stone base, reading a paperback by phone light. They looked up as Maya approached, and suddenly her purple hair didn't matter, her awkwardness didn't matter, nothing mattered except that Riley was smiling at her.

"Your hair," Riley said. "It looks... like you're becoming yourself."

Maya's heart did something illegal. "That's the goal, right?"

"Yeah." Riley closed their book. "Hey, want to get out of here? I know a place that's open."

Maya glanced back at Jaden, who was already making a show of being super interested in a dead leaf. He gave her a tiny thumbs-up.

"Yeah," said Maya, and for the first time in forever, she wasn't pretending. "Let's go."