The Sphinx by the Pool

My palms were sweating before I even walked through Tyler's gate. Which was stupid, because it was just a pool party, not a court appearance, but my body didn't get the memo. Everyone who was anyone was there, including Maya, who'd been sitting two rows ahead of me in homeroom since sixth grade without once looking in my direction.

The party had this weird Egyptian theme Tyler's mom insisted on—plastic sphinx statues everywhere, hieroglyphic streamers, the whole cringe package. Someone had set up a "Sphinx Riddle Corner" by the diving board, where you had to answer some random question before you could jump in. Totally dumb, but people were actually doing it because Tyler's friends would do anything Tyler said.

I was hovering near the snack table, trying to look like I belonged, when Maya walked over to the goldfish bowl filled with those tiny prize fish you could win. She was wearing this black swimsuit with mesh that made my throat go dry.

"These things look miserable," she said, tapping the glass. "My brother had one that lived for like, three years. But everyone says they have no memory."

"Maybe they're just vibing," I heard myself say. "Not forgetting, just... present."

She laughed. Actually laughed. "That's the most philosophical take on goldfish I've ever heard. I'm Maya."

"Leo."

"You gonna answer the sphinx riddle or what?" she nodded toward the pool.

"Not really into embarrassing myself publicly."

"Same." She stepped closer, and I could smell chlorine and coconut sunscreen. "Wanna skip it? There's this spot behind the garage where we can still hear everything but not actually... participate."

My palms stopped sweating. "Yeah. I'd like that."

We spent the next hour talking about everything and nothing—how fake the sphinx theme was, how goldfish get a bad rap, how neither of us actually liked swimming but came anyway. It wasn't some grand romance moment, but it was real. And when she asked if I wanted to come to the smoothie place on Monday, I didn't even have to think before saying yes.

Sometimes the best riddles are the ones nobody has to solve out loud.