The Sphinx at Summit High

I'd been **running** from my problems since seventh grade, which was convenient because I was actually on the cross country team. But nothing could've prepared me for the social **pyramid** that was Summit High School's cafeteria hierarchy.

There I was, Tuesday of freshman year, clutching a tray with the weirdest fruit my mom had ever packed. "Try something new, Mijo," she'd said, beaming like she'd just discovered fire. She'd sliced up a **papaya**, which looked suspiciously like alien flesh-orange, slimy, and filled with what appeared to be hundreds of tiny black seeds.

I spotted Jordan Chen across the cafeteria, sitting at the varsity table with the other upper-crust students. They were practically glowing with that effortless coolness that seemed genetically impossible for someone like me. Jordan, with their leather jacket and half-smile that could probably stop traffic, was the ultimate **sphinx** of Summit High—mysterious, unreadable, and entirely out of my league.

I was halfway to an empty corner table when my shoe caught on absolutely nothing.

The tray flew. The papaya pieces soared like orange comets. And every single person in the cafeteria turned to watch as my awkward lunch attempted to achieve flight.

Time slowed. I saw Jordan's eyes widen, saw the fruit splat dramatically against the floor—right at their feet.

"Well," Jordan said, their voice cutting through the dying laughter. "That's one way to make an entrance."

I wanted to dissolve. I wanted my mom to never buy exotic fruit again. I wanted to transfer to a school where papaya didn't exist.

But then Jordan was there, helping me up, not even looking at the mess. "You good?"

"I'm amazing," I said, my face burning. "Just really wanted to share my papaya with everyone. You know. Generosity."

Jordan laughed—not at me, but with me. And in that moment, the pyramid didn't seem so tall after all.

"Sit with us," they said. "But maybe leave the fruit at home tomorrow."

Some falls, it turned out, were just awkward ways to find where you belonged.