The Sphinx at Sunset

Maya hated everything about cross-country practice, especially the way Coach Martinez made them eat those nasty spinach smoothies beforehand. "It's fuel, ladies! Green fuel!" she'd yell, while Maya tried not to gag.

"You good?" JT asked, wiping sweat from his forehead. His curly hair was starting to flatten in the September heat.

"Dying," Maya groaned. "But I gotta push through if I want varsity. My parents are already on my case about 'time management' and 'priorities.'"

They were running past Miller's Pond, where the old stone fountain stood—everyone called it The Sphinx because some art student in the 90s had carved a weird cat face into the weathered limestone. Legend said if you made a wish there before a big race, it would come true. Maya had never bought into that stuff, but today she felt desperate enough to try anything.

The next day's meet was against Ridgeview, their biggest rival. Ridgeview had Kai—the fastest runner in the district, and honestly, kind of cute. Not that Maya would admit that to anyone.

Race day arrived with perfect weather: cool, crisp, the kind of autumn morning that made everything feel possible. Maya's stomach did that nervous flip-flop thing. She spotted Kai near the starting line, looking annoyingly calm in their Ridgview blue uniform. Their eyes met for half a second. Kai nodded. Maya nodded back, feeling her face heat up.

The gun went off.

Maya's legs burned. Her lungs screamed. All she could think about was how ridiculous it was that she'd willingly signed up for this voluntarily. People paid good money to avoid feeling this way. She thought about The Sphinx and whispered, "Please, just let me not finish last."

She didn't finish last.

She placed third, beating her previous time by forty-seven seconds. Kai finished first, obviously, but afterward they found Maya by the water station.

"You were sprinting the last quarter-mile," Kai said, smiling. "That was sick."

Maya almost said something cool. Instead she blurted out, "I had a really big spinach smoothie."

Kai laughed. "Whatever works."

As Maya walked back to her team, Coach Martinez yelled, "That's what I'm talking about! That green fuel really works!"

Maya just shook her head, grinning. Sometimes the most embarrassing things led to the best moments.