The Sphinx at Sarah's Party

The beaniest sat sideways on my head—a tragic fashion choice I'd deliberated over for forty-five minutes. Why did I think this was my brand? Max had said it looked chill. Max was a liar.

"You good?" Priya asked, sidling up with a solo cup.

"Never been more good," I lied, adjusting the hat.

Sarah's basement thumped with bass that rattled my teeth. Somewhere near the couch, Tyler was constructing a majestic beer can pyramid that had already reached three tiers. A sacred monument to bad decisions.

"Dude," someone yelled. "Who brought the bear?"

A massive stuffed grizzly was propped in the corner wearing a sunglasses chain, like a furry influencer waiting for his close-up.

"That's Barnaby," Sarah shouted over the music. "He's the vibe keeper."

Barnaby. The vibe keeper. Sure.

I fished in my pocket for the emergency vitamin D gummy I'd packed—a pathetic security blanket I'd read about on a mental health TikTok. Like one gummy would fix whatever was broken about me.

"Are you eating a gummy bear?" Priya asked.

"It's a vitamin," I said. "For... focus."

"You at a party, Leo. Not the SATs."

Right.

Then I saw her. Maya. Leaning against the wall near the soda table, scrolling through her phone like she'd been deposited there by accident. We'd had exactly one conversation last year—about whether hot dogs were sandwiches (she said no, I said yes, the jury was still out).

My heart did that thing where it forgot how to rhythm.

"Go talk to her," Priya said, reading my mind like she always did.

"I can't. The hat. It's too much hat."

"The hat is a whole mood, Leo. Own it."

I didn't own it. The hat owned me.

Max stumbled by, high-fiving the beer pyramid like it was an achievement. Someone took a selfie with Barnaby. The vibe keeper, inexplicably delivering.

Maya looked up. Our eyes caught.

My brain short-circuited. Say something cool say something cool say something—

"Nice... pyramid," I blurted, gesturing vaguely at the cans.

She raised an eyebrow. "Tyler's masterpiece. It's gonna be legendary when it collapses."

Legend. Like the ancient mysteries. Like the riddles of the Sphinx, minus all the wisdom.

"I'm Leo," I said. "I have a vitamin gummy in my pocket if you want one. For focus."

Why.

Maya laughed. Not a fake laugh. A real one.

"You're weird," she said. "I'm into it."

The hat, suddenly, felt lighter. Maybe it was the gummy kicking in. Maybe it was just that sometimes the universe lets you have a moment.

"So," she said, "hot dogs. Sandwiches?"

I grinned. "Absolutely not."

"Wrong answer," she said, smiling. "But I respect the conviction."