The Sphinx at Sarah's Party

Riley's palms were sweating so bad she could barely hold her phone.

"You're literally shaking," Maya said, grabbing her arm. "Chill. It's just a party."

Just a party. Right. The kind where Tyler—the orange-haired sophomore who'd sat behind Riley in bio since September—would definitely be. And she was wearing her favorite hoodie (stained with orange soda from lunch) because doing laundry required effort she didn't have.

"I've been spying on his Instagram for like, twenty minutes," Maya whispered. "He posted a story. He's definitely here."

Riley groaned. "Stop. That's creepy."

"It's not spying if it's public. It's research."

Sarah's house was packed. The bass thumped against Riley's chest as they pushed through the kitchen. Someone had drawn a sphinx on the foggy window in soap—Riley's friend Jordan's weird trademark. He claimed it represented "the riddle of teenage existence." Mostly he just liked drawing mythological creatures at parties.

And there he was. Tyler. Standing by the sliding glass door, scrolling through his phone.

Riley's heart did that thing where it felt like lightning struck her chest. Good lightning. The kind that made everything feel electric and possible.

"Go talk to him," Maya shoved her.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Riley. You've had a crush on him since he wore that Boba Fett shirt to school. It's time."

Before Riley could protest, Maya called out: "Tyler! Hey!"

He looked up. His eyes landed on Riley, and she swear time stopped. He smiled.

"Hey," he said. "Riley, right? Biology?"

"Yeah," she managed. Her palms were still sweating but suddenly it didn't matter. "Bio. The best class ever."

He laughed. "Totally. Especially when Mr. Henderson does those weird dance moves to explain mitosis."

They talked for twenty minutes. About bio, about music, about how Sarah's cat was definitely judging everyone from the top of the refrigerator. When he asked for her number, Riley didn't even think about saying yes.

Later, Maya found her grinning in the kitchen.

"So?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "Was it worth the panic?"

Riley looked at Tyler across the room, already typing something into his phone. Probably her number.

"Yeah," Riley said. "Actually. It was."